| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Ever After: A Cinderella Story (George Fenton)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you enjoy George Fenton's varied romantic and comedy
techniques for lively orchestral performances or were enchanted by the
whimsical string title theme in the film itself.
Avoid it... if you're in the majority of listeners out there in search of the wildly popular new age songs used in the film's trailers.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Ever After: A Cinderella Story: (George Fenton)
Despite the fame associated with Disney's animated Cinderella,
the classic film has very little in common with the actual fable written
by the Brothers Grimm. Closer to the reality of the original story is
Andy Tennant's live action adaptation in 1998, following true to many of
the more mundane elements in the story. A 16th Century servant with the
nickname of "Cinderella" has a chance encounter with a French Prince and
the two of them play the expected games of disguise and charm until the
expected romantic conclusion. More interesting than the film's story is
the ability of the filmmakers to adapt purely 20th Century language and
behavior into a 16th Century setting, translating the story into an
easily digestible fable for even today's teenage girls to hold dear and
drool over. A debate about the focus of the film's music was originally
had between the director and composer George Fenton, who was equally
skilled in both modern romance and classically-inclined period writing.
The debate was made more interesting by the widespread popularity of
"The Mummer's Dance" by Lorena McKennitt and "Fable" by Robert Miles in
the film's trailers, building credibility in the argument that a modern
sound would better suit the target audience of the film. While a new age
approach similar to that of the trailers would likely have worked given
the presence of other time-bending aspects of the film, Fenton would
ultimately produce a score that met the classical and new age genres
halfway. His straight forward approach to the romance makes very few
period references, and even employs an Irish tilt that was hugely
popular at the time because of James Horner's Titanic. Compared
to Fenton's other concurrent romance work, Ever After would fall
in between Dangerous Beauty and The Object of My
Affection, with the conservative pull of the latter watering down
the power of the former. A certain amount of humor and pomp in Ever
After, combined with the expected sweeping strings of romance,
create an atmosphere of light-hearted spirit similar to Patrick Doyle's
Much Ado About Nothing.
Fenton's title theme is whimsically played on high strings with a sensibility that owes much to the scores of Hollywood's Golden Age. It won't knock you over as Dangerous Beauty did, but its charm is finally translated into a bold and heroic brass performance in the final cue. Of weaker stature are two or three sub-themes occasionally performed and developed, but none really captures the magic of the story. If you're looking for mysticism in Fenton's work here, you'll be disappointed, for many portions of the score (such as the low key "The Proposal") could very well serve a contemporary urban romance setting. While the glamour of the string themes will likely attract most of the devoted listeners to Ever After, the score's truly interesting and unique moments exist in its ethnic and royal flavor. Introduced in the latter half of "Cinderella" and occupying all of "The Homecoming," the Uillean pipes, fiddle and graceful flute solos in these sections are a highlight. Also of note are the fanfares of significant bombast that Fenton inserts as a necessary nod to the royal aspects of the story. Snare-ripping and brass heroism raises Erich Wolfgang Korngold's swashbucklers in "The Girls, the Prince and the Painting" and this heightened style is reprised with classical flourishes in "Going to the Ball," the only true period piece in the score. The comedy cues in Ever After are also of note due to their use of the full ensemble; both "Your Highness - What a Surprise" and "Marguerite" feature the chopping string rhythms of Thomas Newman's more playful moments. A single choral cue for "The Royal Wedding" provides a necessary serious and somber tone that reminds of the elegance of Shadowlands. On the whole, however, if Fenton's Ever After has a weakness, it's the inability of the collective themes to really tie the package together into a cohesive whole. The score has significant merit in its individual sections, but begs for rearrangement and compilation enjoyment. The album for Ever After contains an echoing mix of Texas' Put Your Arms Around Me, a modern rock affair unrelated to the score. Neither of the two much-hyped songs used in the trailers are contained on this album, but are readily available on their own artists' releases. It remains fascinating that despite the many qualities of Fenton's score for this film, the trailer music continues to dominate mainstream listeners' interest to this day. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 60:51
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert contains a short note from the director about the score and film.
Copyright ©
1998-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Ever After: A Cinderella Story are Copyright © 1998, The Decca Record Co. (London Records) and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/12/98 and last updated 1/21/07. |
