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Review of Shakespeare in Love (Stephen Warbeck)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you seek a charming souvenir from the film, with
consistently pleasant tones that competently mirror the enthusiastic and
lightweight drama on screen.
Avoid it... if you expect to hear more than two performances of the score's famous, bubbly title theme, which, along with the other themes, is poorly developed and ultimately unsatisfying in its brevity.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Shakespeare in Love: (Stephen Warbeck) Charming its
way through the Oscars against arguably superior 1998 competition,
Shakespeare in Love is a culmination of significant British
talent on both sides of the camera. British director John Madden seemed
destined for greatness at the time, and few could argue with Judi Dench
and Geoffrey Rush in memorable roles. Because of her "most favored
status" at Miramax, American Gwyneth Paltrow plays the muse who inspires
the story of "Romeo and Juliet" for struggling playwright William
Shakespeare. The two conduct a love affair while she pretends to be a
man in order to star in his haphazard 1593 play, and the undeniable wit
of the script (dealing continuously smart comments from Shakespeare's
tongue) is the production's major attraction. Above all, however, the
film's exuberant spirit and playful heart lured Academy voters and
mainstream audiences, despite the predictably bittersweet end to the
tale. Fitting in its role perfectly is composer Stephen Warbeck's score,
which rode the success of the film to its own Oscar win. Warbeck was by
no means a household name, even in his native Britain, where his
collaboration with Madden had brought his most high profile film score
in the form of Mrs. Brown the previous year. There was
significant speculation in 1999 that Warbeck would go on to
international fame, but after a couple of moderate dramatic entries and
the continued collaboration with Madden, his career never attained the
notoriety it suggested at the time of Shakespeare in Love. The
score for that movie remains a bittersweet aspect of the film itself,
providing a quite decent and occasionally strong accompaniment for the
topic but missing so many opportunities for greatness that it frustrates
at the same time. A chipper attitude is key to Warbeck's music, with
even the cues of suspense or solitude performed with such a light
orchestral touch that never does any sense of danger emerge. It's almost
a period fantasy score, lofty and whimsical in its thematic presentation
while flowing through static rhythms with little regard for
synchronization points in the film or any urgency to develop its own
ideas beyond the very basic molds on which Warbeck seems to have based the
foundation of the score.
Warbeck's music for Shakespeare in Love works in the film and is nothing less than an undemanding and pleasant listening experience on album, but it by no means deserves the hype that it received at the time. His handling of his own themes is the work's greatest weakness. Warbeck offers three themes in Shakespeare in Love, and the most memorable is actually the least explored. The most vibrant and enthusiastic theme is the title piece, heard in full only in "The Beginning of the Partnership" and "The Brawl." This purely fluffy affair is most commonly considered the score's main theme, though it more accurately represents the Rose Theater and its crew. It's a lovely theme that very well establishes the tone of the film immediately, and it's an absolute shame that it only receives two major treatments in the film itself. Mixed within the bouncing rhythms of this theme are hints of the score's other two ideas. One is used as a slightly more tense representation of nerves and rebellion. Heard in "Viola's Audition," this interlude to the previous theme sometimes moves with the same excitement as the theatre's theme, but it is also called upon for moments of anxiety throughout the score (and especially in the preparations for the final, pivotal performance). The love theme for Will and Viola is fleeting throughout the score, but is a more dramatically fluid idea that is only hinted at throughout the score before its monumental ensemble performance in "The End." Most of the time, these themes are conveyed by string layers, but are occasionally accented by solo trumpet or woodwind. The style of the period is addressed by occasional wooden flute and harpsichord contributions, though acoustic guitar and tapping percussion provide warmth to some of the score's more intimate moments. Overall, the work can be quite drab in its attempt to address the somber elements of the story; only a faint soprano voice in "The Play and the Marriage" provides colorful relief from the absolute consistency in the score's tone. Listeners will gravitate back to the two delightful performances of the title theme. Ultimately, this is a film for which Rachel Portman could have written a more addictive score in her sleep, and for which George Fenton could have penned a classic. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 55:19
* soprano solo by Catherine Bott
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film. The music
was recorded at CTS Studios in London between October 6th and 9th, 1998.
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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 Shakespeare in Love are Copyright © 1998, Sony Classical and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/30/98 and last updated 3/29/08. |
