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| Portman |
Used People: (Rachel Portman) A tear-jerking drama set in the
late 1960's,
Used People features the story of a widow being romanced by a
man who would have been her suitor earlier in life if not for ethnic differences.
The lovable, sensible tale featured a star-studded cast (with no less than four
Academy Award-winning actresses) and placed them under the elegant lights of New
York City. This setting offered the opportunity for the music of the film to
reflect both the jazzy ambience of the big city in a more innocent time, as well as
the romantic instrumentation associated with any plotline to emerge from of the
genre. The ethnic differences also required an inherent touch of flair in the
music, being, after all, that Italians in New York are often loud and outrageous in
their most affable character traits. A certain amount of youthful, vigorous energy
also inhabits the film and score, extending the idea that people are never too old
to woo one another and have a good time. Before bursting into mainstream American
attention with
The Joy Luck Club in 1993, Rachel Portman had already
established herself as rising star in the composing industry. By the time she
continued her collaboration with director Beeban Kidron for a third time with
Used People, Portman had already received numerous award nominations and
wins in Europe, including an encouraging award out of the U.K. announcing her as
the best new composer of the 1980's. Portman's partnership with Kidron would
continue after
Used People, but this 1992 score marked one of Portman's
first large-scale projects for which recognition of her name would be established
in America. Critics of Portman's consistent mannerisms of the 1990's state that the
composer is simply a one-dimensional artist, capable of only producing one style of
sound. If you accept that as true, and you'd have quite a few angry Portman fans
debating that point, then
Used People is a refreshing glimpse of that style
before it was well known and rehashed in several subsequent pictures.
The music put on display by Portman in
Used People is very
much a preview of where she would be headed in future years. The title theme does
not have the same deep, resounding swell that many of her fans would become
accustomed to, but her harmonic, richly simplistic base is intact. There is more of
a mournful attitude to
Used People, because the film deals with serious
issues of mortality as well, so Portman never unleashes her typically unrestricted,
positive attitude in this work. The score opens with an elegant, but melancholy
horn solo above her usual, easy chord progressions, representing the big city and
the sadness and loneliness it often possesses. Other sections explode with
Portman's comedy rhythms, with tumbling horns performing rhythms of a pleasant,
though slightly silly nature. Portman's ability to concoct rowdy, orchestral ruckus
is put to work here, and this comedy writing is very similar to what her fans would
hear from the composer later on, making it the most expendable part of this
particular score. The essence of the old time jazz beat, while trying to poke its
head out and assert itself at several points, adds only a minimal flavor to the
score, though. A few delightful, lyrical passages appear hidden throughout the
work, such as in "Let me Cook You Dinner," and these woodwind driven sections
offer the bulk of the most listenable sections of
Used People. The score's
emotional heart is centered on one spectacularly disparate cue; "The Grave"
briefly drops the upbeat piano meanderings and lays on a heavy dose of melodramatic
strings. With this dark cue offering the only powerful, gripping music in the
score,
Used People remains much more of a featherweight in its
sensibilities. The score concludes itself nicely with Portman's typical, slowly
formulated finale and the album provides 40 minutes very accessible and dramatic
romance music. The Frank Sinatra song in the middle of the album, while a logical
choice, unfortunately breaks up the flow of the score. The album is now out of
print, but can be found for decent prices in online auctions. Portman fans should
consider
Used People as a safe, though unspectacular purchase.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Rachel Portman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 30 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 28,116 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert contains biographical information about Portman and the director
of the film.
