Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #716
Written 3/25/00, Revised 4/22/07
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Buy it... if you appreciate intelligent adaptations of baroque
style into a modern, richly melodic, and powerfully performed score.
Avoid it... if you've never cared for the 17th Century style of
Henry Purcell and his contemporaries, for such works both exist as
source material throughout the film and are the basis for the original
score.
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| Howard |
Restoration: (James Newton Howard) Based on the
novel by Rose Tremain, Restoration applies its title to both
England and to its title character. The film is set in the storied
1660's, during the return of Charles II to the English thrown and the
lavish excesses of society until London burned later in the decade.
Against this backdrop is the story of a physician whose rise and fall
from grace is both tragic and comical. In the leading role, Robert
Downey Jr. exercises his talents in medicine but unfortunately falls for
the King's mistress. His banishment and improbable return is decidedly
positive in spirit, and despite a few factual kinks in the storyline (as
well as Meg Ryan's miscasting in a major role), Restoration was
generally well-received. Because of the story's lack of authenticity,
the film never gained the long-term success of the other British period
films of the 1990's, including the Jane Austen adaptations. One of the
film's great ironies is that while much of the story was fictionalized
and almost inappropriate for the era, the sets, costumes, and original
score were all very well suited to a more seriously dramatic picture
along the same lines. Composer James Newton Howard had never scored this
kind of period piece in his expanding career, one that had spent
considerable time in the darker action realms. With that fact in mind,
Howard claims to have done extensive research on this segment of period
music before beginning his assignment. The target of his research was
Henry Purcell and his piece "If Love's a Sweet Passion" from "The Fairy
Queen" in particular. Along with other Purcell accomplishments and the
work of Marin Marais, Howard's study of 17th Century music from the
region would allow his score to weave in and out of actual source
references to those pieces in the film. He would use the structure of
"If Love's a Sweet Passion," among other usual techniques of the time,
to form the title theme for his underscore. While his baroque
adaptations are both competent and enjoyable in Restoration, it's
the gravity of his dramatic underscore in the film's second half that
steals the spotlight.
Early on the album, the tone of the film is established
with crisp recordings of Purcell's material. Howard's "Main Titles" open
with a roar of the timpani and unleash the full extent of his research
into the period with a rousing adaptation through gorgeous lead
performances by trumpet and harpsichord. Howard's baroque music is
sufficient in its role, though the underscore tracks begin to show a
tender quality of a more melodramatic variety when solo woodwinds
eventually state Howard's own "healing theme." The choice of utilizing a
full, modern ensemble to translate the baroque style into an acceptable
sound for contemporary ears allows
Restoration to flaunt its
period aspects while also providing the resounding sense of gravity that
those modern listeners will expect. At no time is this choice better
illustrated than in the massively rendered rhythmic crescendo of the
entire ensemble heard with magnificent force in "The Fire." The problem
that some listeners will have with
Restoration is the dominance
of the harpsichord early in the proceedings, and the stigma involved
with that instrument will deter some people. But the second half of
Howard's score is largely devoid of the harpsichord's prancing. The duo
of "Night Sweats" and "Hospital" are among the best six minutes of
Howard's career. The cue "Night Sweats" in particular is a haunting
combination of
Flatliners and
Lady in the Water; it's the
only choral track on the album, but its elegance in progression rivals
the appeal of Howard's fan-favorite 2006 score above. It is in these
cues that the influence of the 17th Century styles is cleverly masked by
Howard in underlying structures, proving that without the stereotypical
harpsichord, the baroque style can be twisted by an intelligent composer
to serve any modern need. A victorious, redemptive statement of theme in
"Your Child I Believe" closes Howard's original material with the
appropriately soaring spirit. As an album, Howard's original music may
seem scattered amongst a significant amount of Purcell source, but a
consistency in sound quality and adept adaptations by Howard allow for a
smooth flow most of the time. If not for an extraordinarily strong year
for film music in 1995,
Restoration could very well have been
among the year's best.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For James Newton Howard reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.4
(in 70 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.36
(in 86,610 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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