as strictly a character drama, it is
still a traditional war film in its themes of escape, destruction, maniacal
killing, the weapons of war, psychological breakdown, and redemptive dignity.
Against all odds, a group of American prisoners subjected to the conditions of a
1944-1945 Nazi camp devise a plan to escape the compound and demolish a nearby
ammunition factory, and the film portrays the adversity experienced by the involved
prisoners while trying to prepare for that assault. Nevertheless, the film
concentrates heavily on the character development within the camp rather than the
escape itself, giving it a cerebral touch that many audiences wrongly expecting a
Bruce Willis ass-kicking contest were bored to death by. Given that the filmmakers
wanted to establish
as a tale of inner strength and resolve, they
chose one of the world's most romantic film composers to balance the setting and
action of war. By bringing Rachel Portman onto the production team, they hoped to
add the depth of heart that was needed to adequately make
into an
introspective and thoughtful exploration of character that reaches beyond the usual
sounds of war films. As director Gregory Hoblit explained, "
is
not a war story. It is fundamentally about captured American soldiers finding
grace, dignity, and honor. It is also a movie one would not expect Rachel Portman
to have scored..." Indeed, when thinking of a WWII drama about a Nazi prisoner of
war camp, Portman's fluffy romance music doesn't seem to fit the genre in any way.
The reason for her employment here was obviously not to paint a pretty picture of
the situation, but instead to match her authentically organic and melodically rich
preferences for an orchestral ensemble with the agenda of the picture. Her career
is more varied than most casual collectors know, though even in the periphery,
where some of her most intriguing non-romance material exists, there's nothing
quite like
It is not the first time that filmmakers have wished to
concentrate their war films on the characters' dramatic development by using a
romantically-inclined composer. The film that immediately comes to mind is
Platoon, for which Georges Delerue was hired (and then replaced with the
infamous Adagio for Strings). The dramatic impact of that film was reliant upon the
romantic and heroic approach of the music, both in the case of Delerue's work and
the adagio. To an extent, John Williams approached
Schindler's List from the
same direction, too. In the case of both Delerue and Williams, however, there was
knowledge ahead of time that both those composers could deliver stark, restrained
accompaniment for war topics if necessary. When it came to Portman, it wasn't
really known if she had the capacity to effectively capture the brutality of war.
Her music for
Hart's War, in many regards, continues to leave that question
unanswered. One thing is for certain: it's nearly impossible for Portman to
completely lose the charm of her compositions when she's given a full orchestral
ensemble. There is an intangible optimism that prevails in all of her orchestral
works, likely due to her lyrical constructs. In
Hart's War, while there are
moments of reflection, there is rarely a truly despairing moment. Even when brazen
action and killing is taking place on screen, there is a kind sensitivity that
permeates the environment, aided by a perpetual sense of movement in the composer's
light rhythmic propulsion in each cue (on piano or strings). Her title theme is
both heroic and noble, making the same use of solo trumpet techniques heard in
The Legend of Bagger Vance. Other than the quiet trumpet fanfare (which is
typical in its application to the same extent that Jerry Goldsmith's
The Last
Castle was a bit predictable), there isn't any indication in the
instrumentation that this is a wartime score. It could very well have accompanied a
domestic drama of some sort. The curious lack of a snare is compensated for by the
occasional rumbling of timpani. Heavy in the string section as usual, Portman's
bass is mixed with emphasis during moments of action or anticipation.
The harmonic intensity of the score is consistent throughout, and
with only a few moments of total dissonance, it's hard not to credit Portman with
achieving the goal the director presented to her. Aside from debating the merits of
the
Hart's War score for its genre, it is still an impressively dramatic
piece of music. She interpolates her omnipresent piano into several cues, reminding
the listener of Cliff Eidelman's early war scoring efforts. The drab tone of its
more repressed cues will remind of Stephen Warbeck's war-related efforts of the
early 2000's. Apart from the film, the score is consistently powerful in substance
and resonance, and it's thematically pleasing as well. The title theme may bother a
few listeners in its resemblance to Williams'
JFK in its opening bars. But
Portman doesn't disappoint those film music collectors eager to be swept away by a
heroically dramatic theme. While she may still allow hints of her comedy writing to
slip by every once in a while (especially in her trademark string ostinatos), the
overall somber tone of
Hart's War distinguishes this work from all of her
others. A secondary theme of adversity, heard most extensively in "End Credits," is
about as troubled as Portman's mainstream writing gets. There are a few moments in
The Cider House Rules that feature a strong brass accompaniment that can
compete with what was recorded for
Hart's War, but never with this
intensity. The final two tracks of the album are a dramatic powerhouse of a duo,
and they could have alone gained this score an award nomination had the film's
opening been timed better. At the same time, even though Portman fans will be
undoubtedly impressed by this album and score, there are lingering concerns about
the lack of brutality in her style (and how that may affect the score's atmosphere
in the film). The album is shorter than many other soundtracks from the Decca
label, but the included presentation is by far enough to establish an easy and
consistent listening experience. In sum, Portman didn't go out on a limb for
Hart's War, staying surprisingly close to her preferred style of operation
while adding just enough intensity to service the genre of war without raising any
serious questions.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Rachel Portman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.26
(in 28 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.25
(in 26,332 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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