is a biographical depiction long
in the making about Bethany Hamilton, a young female surfer in Hawaii
whose arm is bitten off by a shark in 2003 but who, in defiance of the
odds, returns to the surf board and eventually turns pro in the sport.
The 2011 production of this particular famous story has been awaited for
years, and the script of
underwent several years of
expansion while director Sean McNamara and the other filmmakers
struggled to seek funding for the project. At odds with the studio was
the Christian faith obnoxiously pushed in story, the bible and praises of God
referenced regularly; although the studio was initially worried about attracting
secular audiences to
in 2009 affirmed the possibility of crossover appeal in the
sports genre. The most challenging production aspect of the film was the
digital removal of the left arm of lead actress AnnaSophia Robb in 450
different shots, though the finished release managed to gross twice its
final budget theatrically. Although appealing effectively to a younger
female demographic,
was infused with a tad too many
Hollywood cliches of a melodramatic nature for some critics to handle,
leading to mixed reviews. One of these clearly saccharine aspects of the
movie is the original score by Marco Beltrami, an unlikely man for the
job, perhaps, but ultimately the right one. Known primarily for his
horror and psychological drama scores, Beltrami isn't exactly the
composer one would expect to see attached to a lighter redemptive drama
in the sports genre. He has shown glimpses of tonal greatness in brief
passages throughout his career, the most memorable such music in a
mainstream assignment coming in 2009's
. But when you hear
, you'll encounter a side of Beltrami that most film
collectors will not have heard in such acoustic and beautiful harmony.
He thankfully approaches the movie from a very smart standpoint of
addressing all of the film's underlying themes rather than emphasizing
one over the other.
Dozens of composers could have provided this film with
extremely simplistic background rhythms of a contemporary nature, even
composers like Trevor Rabin and Gustavo Santaolalla. But Beltrami is
seemingly inspired by the topic to such a degree that he wisely tackled
the full range of concepts with native chants for the Hawaiian culture,
beauty from a choir for the religious side, piano and guitar
contemplation for a healing family, and large orchestral ensemble for
the expanse of the ocean and surfing competitions. Together, the four
disparate ingredients in the
score are brought
together brilliantly by Beltrami to form a cohesive whole with a
satisfying narrative flow. The most striking emphasis of these four is
placed on the inclusion of several Hawaiian chants (known historically
as a "mele"), some of which assembled for performances specific to this
recording while others adapted into an original background mix with the
orchestra. Beltrami contracted with Lowell Edgar to assemble a small
group of roughly eight Hawaiian singers capable of enunciating the
native chants pulled together from a number of traditional sources by
Amy Stillman. The texts that form the resulting lyrics come from
hundreds of years through history, and those chosen for
are appropriate for the roughly half a dozen scenes in which
they are heard. While some of these texts glorify the location as
expected, some specifically relate to surfing and the most powerful, a
deep, throaty male chant in "Shark Attack," is frightfully ominous in
its meaning. Most listeners to the score won't care about the precision
of these lyrics, but they are just one example of the care that went
into this music. The small ensemble vocal performances range from the
mostly female tones of the upbeat location chants to the two
aforementioned male contributions in the bass to represent the evils of
the ocean and Bethany's conquering of it. A larger, more general choral
cooing is occasionally called upon as well, most likely to represent the
religious aspect of the story, "Hymn For Bethany" and the more somber
"Phuket" using streamlined tones (dominated by either women or
children's voices) that will remind of early James Horner children's
scores.
The highlight of the vocal usage in
Soul Surfer is
surprisingly the most unoriginal one. For "Main Titles" and "Bethany's
Wave," Beltrami adapts a performance of "E Kuini E Kapi`olani" by Kulia
I Ka Punawai as heard on a 2007 CD titled "Legacy Hula Volume 2:
Kapi`olani." This elegant chant, alternating simply between two notes,
is performed with fantastic inflection, and Beltrami literally writes
his two cues around this existing recording. He affords it resounding
orchestral backing and even alters its ambient tone, giving it a little
reverb to match the sound of the other, original singing performances
for
Soul Surfer. This technique culminates in an insertion at
1:52 into "Bethany's Wave" that serves as a breathtaking interlude to
Beltrami's primary theme. Other Hawaiian elements are applied in the
instrumental palette for the score, most notably a slack key guitar and
various percussion struck often with fortitude. A ukulele and nose flute
round out the ethnic contributions. For more straight forward
representations of the girl's relations with her family, Beltrami sticks
to familiar guns, using acoustic guitar and piano performances to
support several conversational cues. Although the various solo elements
mixed into
Soul Surfer provide more than enough color to
Beltrami's canvas, the orchestral passages speak to the underlying
passion for the sport that inspires the lead character and in turn the
audience. While extremely soothing strings are typical accompaniment for
the chants and other solo performances, the full group is allowed
several moments of grandeur. These cues, led by "Turtle Bay Surfing,"
"Back in the Water," and "Welcome to Nationals," cater to the norms of
the sports genre, and varied chopping rhythms from the lower strings
with violins and brass on top are reminiscent of a technique Jerry
Goldsmith may have used in this circumstance. Toned back are cues like
"Fireworks" and "Awards," though even in these moments (and the solo
performances by piano and guitar), Beltrami remains extremely faithful
to his main theme. This melody is heard in many guises throughout
Soul Surfer, from the chants of "Main Title" to the robust
orchestral force of "Back in the Water." A pair of similar, affable
rhythmic presentations of the theme on piano and slack key guitar over
ukulele in "Half Pint Boards" and "Bethany Gives Thanks" are upbeat
relief from an otherwise generally serious score.
Other deviations from the relatively even flow of
Soul Surfer include the unique percussion applications in
"Homecoming" (joined by flutes seemingly trying to emulate birds),
"Paddle Battle," and "Big Drum Competition," as well as the straight
horror cues, "Shark Attack" and "Trying to Get Out," the latter a full
ensemble action piece complete with more standard synthetic loops from
Beltrami. Even though the composer maneuvers through these disparate
styles in the score, he manages to pull all of it together into one
finely cohesive piece of music. Some listeners won't care for the
entirety of
Soul Surfer, for there are indeed challenging cues to
be encountered (and some may not appreciate the tone of the Hawaiian
chants, either), but the score features so many highlights that you can
easily assemble them into an unquestionably outstanding twenty-minute
presentation. One of the most spectacular moments in the score is "Back
in the Water," a strictly symphonic piece (with acoustic guitar
accompaniment) that expresses upbeat perseverance and ultimate triumph
at its conclusion that is nearly tear-inducing in context. One of the
reasons this cue is so powerful is that its conclusion, starting at 1:42
as Bethany finally gets back on the board successfully for the first
time, is so reminiscent of the kind of orchestral enthusiasm that Basil
Poledouris would have written for this scene if he were still alive. An
avid surfer and man of the ocean, Poleoduris would likely be proud of
"Back in the Water" and the other full ensemble surfing cues in
Soul
Surfer, an extra element of sentimentality built into Beltrami's
achievement for avid score collectors. Another reason to appreciate
Soul Surfer is its fantastic sound mix. The balance between
instruments and voices is masterful, the two sometimes fading in and out
of each other seamlessly. The integration of the vocal performances,
starting with the adapted mele over the main titles and extending to the
religious material, is remarkable. Most impressive is the fascinatingly
propulsive "Paddle Battle," during which percussion, strings, and brass
perform in sharp staccato rhythms underneath the male chant that had
earlier represented the shark attack, smartly suggesting that Bethany
has conquered both the ocean and her own fears. The orchestration of the
score is far more complex than it needed to be, too, exemplified by
intriguing flute flourishes in "Turtle Bay Surfing" and an alluring
cello solo in "Bethany's Wave."
Overall, all of this attention to detail by Beltrami
translates into a tonal score that sounds very little like the Beltrami
that most film music enthusiasts know. It's hard to say what the
collectors of his horror material will think of
Soul Surfer,
though if you agree with most other movie music fans that Beltrami
suffered from a lack of passion in the concurrent
Scream 4, then
perhaps he saved and expended all of that intensity of focus in
Soul
Surfer instead. You have to respect what the man has achieved in the
horror genre through the years, but between
3:10 to Yuma and
Soul Surfer he shows a diversity of talent that overshadows his
horror work in nearly every regard. Because of its tonal beauty,
Soul
Surfer will quickly become his career crown jewel for many casual
collectors with just a handful of Beltrami scores. That said, the high
recommendation of this music comes with a few caveats and warnings.
First, the main theme's full ensemble performances, especially those
with the ethnic choral accompaniment, will remind listeners of Trevor
Jones' equivalent theme in
The Mighty, not only in the
progressions and instrumentation but also in their common inspirational
tone. The album has a few quirks as well, beyond just the inclusion of
some of the solo performances during conversational scenes that slow the
overall presentation. High gain levels at 1:58 into "Hymn For Bethany"
cause brief distortion. There exists a version of "Bethany Gives Thanks"
(and, by association, "Half Pint Boards") that includes a female vocal
similar to the Kulia I Ka Punawai performances that open the album
during the piano and slack key guitar portions of those cues.
Unfortunately, this lovely mix only exists in a YouTube video
chronicling some photography from the score's recording sessions with
the soloists in Beltrami's studio. Finally, the album only exists as a
download or Amazon.com "CDr on Demand," the latter the only lossless
option. Like Christopher Young's
Priest from the same period of
time,
Soul Surfer is a score that merits the expenditure on the
CDr, despite the occasional nagging issues inherent in those Amazon.com
burns. You rarely hear a score with so many integrated facets, all of
them successful. It is to inspirational drama what A.R. Rahman's
Couples Retreat was to comedies a few years prior: an immense
overachievement for a picture that gives you highly original music you
rarely hear in film. In this case, you get the added benefit of Hawaiian
tradition, too, and how often do you hear that? Take the plunge.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Marco Beltrami reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.75
(in 28 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.8
(in 19,011 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
