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| Wiseman |
To Olivia: (Debbie Wiseman) While many children and
parents alike appreciate the impact of novelist Roald Dahl in his
famously macabre but still kindhearted stories, the man's personal life
was anything but smooth. While married to lead actress Patricia Neal in
the 1960's, the couple suffered the tragedy of losing one of their
daughters to measles, and this event caused extraordinary stress in
their marriage and led Dahl to spend his lifetime advocating for
vaccinations. The 2021 British film
To Olivia, distributed via
Sky Cinema in the United Kingdom and later America for streaming only,
concentrates on the 1962-1963 time period involving the tragedy and
triumphs of the family as they lose the daughter and reconcile with
renewed purpose. The movie was met with only marginal praise, in part
because it largely ignores the more controversial aspects of Dahl's life
in favor of more sympathetic characteristics; the man's notorious
antisemitism and other bigotry severely damaged his reputation by the
1980's, and Neal split from him and lived another two decades after
Dahl's death in 1990. Director John Hay hasn't fashioned a particularly
successful career, but film score enthusiasts remain grateful to him for
providing continued feature film work for British composer Debbie
Wiseman. A versatile throwback to the masters of lyricism from a prior
age, Wiseman burst onto the scene in the 1990's with several notable
dramatic film scores, carrying over into the 2000's with outstanding
orchestral action and fantasy work for
Arsène Lupin and
Lesbian Vampire Killers. Her romantic side often prevails in her
work, however, and her lovable music for Hay's
The Truth About
Love remains a hidden gem that rivals the best of Rachel Portman's
airy music of the period. She spent most of the 2010's writing classical
pieces and the scores for somewhat B-rate television series, with the
occasionally pretty but underwhelming
Edie serving as her only
feature credit in the latter half of the decade. For Wiseman
enthusiasts,
To Olivia is an enticing dose of nostalgia; with the
composer in only her late 50's, there is always hope that she will shift
to mainstream cinema once again, and this work is a small step in that
direction. The trademark lyricism of Wiseman's past continues in
To
Olivia but with extreme restraint. This is music dominated by
introspection, so while the orchestral base of the work is broadly
solid, don't expect the same lofty ensemble highlights or expansive
dynamism of Wiseman's past highlights.
Wiseman confessed to substantial challenges in finding
the right thematic core for
To Olivia, eventually deciding upon a
two-part theme for the movie that represents the girl in its sum and the
two parents in its parts. The work offers representation from all the
symphonic ranks, though the performances are rather sparse in the
soundscape. Wiseman's basic trademarks are heard throughout, highlighted
by her tendency to apply French horns as counterpoint to strings, as in
the opening of "People Always Say That at the End," but don't expect any
vigor or passion from the players. At its most melodic,
To Olivia
is a romantic score but not a lush one, extreme restraint and a lack of
ambient fullness contributing to a diminished overall impact. (The
score's recording was delayed by the pandemic, but it did commence with
social distancing once possible.) Strings often carry the day, though
piano solos occupy the more contemplative moments. Rare woodwind and
brass accents are not as engaging as bright percussion led by ample
chimes, a holdover from
The Truth About Love, and periodic
acoustic guitar performances. A xylophone offers the most tender
child-like passages while tasteful electronic ambience beefs up the
middle passages of the score during its darkest struggles. The theme is
omnipresent in the first and final acts of the film, establishing the
happy family and returning as it learns to live without the daughter.
The primary phrases of the theme, often conveyed on piano, are heard in
the first minute of "To Olivia," and this identity seems best matched to
Dahl's personal journey. The second minute of that cue explores the
secondary string and guitar identity that follows Neal during her
flightier glamour in "The Film Star and the Fairy Tribute" and "And the
Oscar Goes To...," and this identity is where the heart strings are
really pulled by this score. The primary phrase stews rather anonymously
for much of the score until its resurrection in "Sorry a Second Time,"
its optimism joined by Neal's identity in the interlude placement in
which it was originally encountered. These moments of lyricism are the
score's obvious highlight, but they are somewhat redundant. The softly
turbulent middle passages of the score contain descending phrasing of
somber intent, heard best in "Gone for a Walk," that seems related to
the secondary identity in the main theme. The score's most effective
portions are those that balance this darkness with the actual theme, as
in "Twisted in a Good Way." On the whole, the main theme of
To
Olivia is certainly alluring, but its repetitive restraint and
incredibly slow pacing will lose some listeners. The secondary interlude
phrase is solemnly gorgeous, however, and Wiseman collectors will find
much to like in this relaxing experience.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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The insert includes notes about the score from both the composer and the director.
