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| Doyle |
Gosford Park: (Patrick Doyle) If you consider
yourself allergic to what you deem the "period talking head" film genre,
then
Gosford Park is likely your worst nightmare come true.
Robert Altman's character rich dramas often receive their acclaim for
their outstanding direction, screenwriting, and acting. For
Gosford
Park, he assembled an absolute all-star cast of British actors,
though the whirlwind pace of the extravagant plot caused each character
to be rather shallow. The story is constrained to a theatrical stage-like
bubble of action, with the murderous who-done-it story played out in the
lavish confines of a mansion in a century past. For those not informed
about 1930's culture, both in Britain and America, many of the
conversational references and characters' reasoning will fly over their
heads and likely lead to immense boredom. The intensely intimate manner
by which Altman typically concentrates on the story and its characters
rather than anything with more flash can cause the scores for his films
to fade away into obscurity. In fact, when one thinks about an Altman
film, the original score isn't the first thing that comes to mind and,
in many cases, his films don't even need a score. This wasn't the case,
however, with
Gosford Park, which was a musical-like diversion
for Altman. One of the characters is based on composer Ivor Novello, who
is portrayed by actor Jeremy Northam well enough in the film that he
performs all of his own piano and vocal duties. It's not uncommon for
the film to spend ten minutes delving into a deep discussion of culture
theory and then loosen its environment with one of Northam's lengthy
performances (which dominate the soundscape during almost every moment).
The period and decadent style of the setting in
Gosford Park
necessitated a score to accompany the songs, and Altman looked no
further than Patrick Doyle for the assignment. The composer, heaving
just finished
Love's Labour's Lost and a veteran of several
British period dramas, was a very logical choice by Altman. The musical
approach to
Gosford Park, however, is nothing like
Love's
Labour's Lost. Because it still holds true to the tight grip of the
director,
Gosford Park was a project for which Doyle needed only
a small ensemble and a swaggering sense of style.
For a composition devoid of even one flashy moment,
Doyle recorded the score with only an ensemble of a dozen or so primary
instruments. Because it is a part of the film's story, the piano is the
center of both the songs and the score. Minimalistic by Doyle's
standards,
Gosford Park has its moments of jazzy flair and
rolling piano cues, but the mass of it tinkers along with a light
percussive beat and the meanderings of a solo instrument of choice. The
story's dual settings within the mansion caused Doyle to tackle the
upstairs extravaganza of wealth with a different set of instruments than
the seedy downstairs of the estate, where dirty kitchen gossip reigns.
The former, rich with high society conversation and snipes, is addressed
with the same kind of stately piano attitude that you'd expect upon
walking into a fashionable department store. The latter, where the
workers cut to the chase, is portrayed through a lower class accordion
and a slower tempo. The duality is effective, though not particularly
inspiring in the restraints placed on them by the story. The best cues
of the score are caused by Doyle's infusion of jazz, which is
highlighted by the "Inspector Thompson" cue of almost sleazy sax style.
The score's downbeat finale (from "Carpe Diem" to "Your Boy's Alive") is
a major detraction. The Ivor Novello songs in
Gosford Park mix
surprisingly well with the score despite their often disparate genres.
Altman gives credit to Doyle for this cohesion, since the songs were
selected before hand and it was Doyle's job to connect them with a
compatible score. Despite Northam's competent performances, those songs,
however, aren't particularly clever or refreshing. Their simple
construction sometimes betrays the fact that Altman's attention was on
the story rather than the musical accessories. Abigail Doyle contributes
two song performances to the film, both of which smoother to the ear.
Together, all of these elements form a functional, albeit lightweight
album. There's nothing new or fantastic about the music for
Gosford
Park, though the album initially sold well because of the
production's critical success and the obvious role for the music in the
film. For Doyle collectors, there may be some disappointment with the
constraints of the ensemble and subsequently mellow personality of the
recording. It's a pleasant, though mundane listening experience on
album.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Patrick Doyle reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.83
(in 29 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.47
(in 22,160 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes extensive credits and notes from both Patrick Doyle and
Robert Altman about the scoring process for the film.
