: (Thomas Newman) After the immense
popularity of the 2017 cinematic adaptation of author R.J. Palacio's
book, "Wonder," a 2024 follow-up does the same with the writer's related
graphic novel, "White Bird." Only one ancillary character carries over
to this particular sequel in the concept, which turns into something of
a spin-off. The bully boy from
, his grandmother helping him learn what he did wrong
in the first tale while conveying stories of her own youth trying to fit
in during the German occupation of France in World War II. A series of
harrowing stories about how the family was affected by the Holocaust
ensues, some of it leading to death in a concentration camp, and the
grandmother applies her wisdom learned to the bully's own school lessons
so that he can choose a better path for himself. Despite the acclaimed
performance of Helen Mirren in the lead role,
completely lost without the compelling story of its own
main characters. That wildly successful movie was scored by Marcelo
Zarvos, a favorite of the director, and he provided a warm, kind, light,
and contemporary blend of piano, guitar, and strings for a pleasant and
anonymously melodic score built upon hopeful, ascending four-note
figures. Some outwardly pop-inspired moments with electric bass and drum
kit also inhabit that score, but it's generally unoffensive and
streamlined from start to finish. None that music's structure carries
over to the second film, but pieces of the instrumental palette do. With
a new director and crew came the entry of veteran composer Thomas Newman
to the franchise. His music sits fairly well with Zarvos' in terms of
personality, but Newman goes in a different direction stylistically for
a clear extension of the sound from his music for
a few
years earlier, reprising his own collaborations with comfortable crew
and techniques.
As to be expected from Newman, the breadth of instrumental
creativity in
White Bird is far broader than what Zarvos
attempted for
Wonder. The sequel's instrumentation is worldly and
imaginative, which seems a bit odd in this context but saturates many of
the composer's works of this era. High woodwinds (including whistle) and
solo strings are appropriate for the period, however. The woodwinds are
sometimes processed, particularly the flute, as are trombones and
voices. The piano, the heart of the first film's score, is present as a
regular soloist and performed by Newman himself here, though he also
provides shimmers from the instrument. Acoustic, pedaled bass, and
electric guitars all convey warmer shades while synthetic ambient drones
and loops programmed by Newman offer atmospheres for the Holocaust. It
wouldn't be a Newman score without some unique coloration in the
recording, and those tones come from frame and harp motors, tambourines,
dulcimer, and skin and frame drums in this entry. While generally
melodic, the sizable score also applies dissonant suspense and horror
environments for long portions in
Tolkien form, and the
processing is heavy in these parts. Listeners will find little pleasure
from such cues as "Stay Very Quiet Run Very Fast," "Deep as Your Knees,"
"Tourteau," and "Cinema Mernuit." Less horrific is the muted, metallic
haze of "Time to Heal" and "Puppet Show." Rhythmic electronic pulsing in
the worry of "Late for School" is interesting, and this contemporary
sound continues with evocative solo voice in "The Giant Wolves." One of
the detriments of Newman when he strives for style over substance in how
he throws intriguing instrumental tones to his work is that the melodic
narrative sometimes suffers. To an extent, that trend will continue in
White Bird for many listeners. Still, there is more thematic
structure to this score than one might expect, and there's certainly a
better-developed set of identities than what Zarvos provided for the
previous film. The two main themes, in fact, are both winners that enjoy
substantial renditions at the end of the score.
Of the two primary themes for
White Bird, the
main one for the film and Mirren's character, Sara, is the more
likeable. Utilizing descending phrases of pleasant airiness and kindness
with an exotic tilt, this theme is briefly expressed with extremely
friendly tones in "Sara Blum," very faint on winds in the meandering of
"Julien Beaumier," and slight at the outset of "Tourteau." The theme's
underlying chords seem to inform the propulsively optimistic "Zebra"
without melody, but the idea is fully realized in its contemporary form
in "(Wonder Story)" in ways that emulate the Zarvos score. It pleasantly
attempts to build its foundation in "New York" and "Sea of Bluebells"
while softly reprising its opening form in "The End of my Story" with a
wholesome string coda. For the Sara theme's culmination, Newman opens
"Vive l'Humanité" on extremely pastoral piano with string
sincerity, the full ensemble rendition of the theme in the cue's latter
half representing a throwback to vintage dramatic form for the composer.
A friendly, faster rendition for the piano opens "White Bird" and gains
contemporary stylings as the theme guides the entirety of the
rhythmically delightful cue, which ends with bird-related sound effects
at its fade-out. The other prominent theme in
White Bird is one
of family that derives from the lessons of the past, a more stoic idea
of serious intent for the Holocaust backstory presented. Its ascending
figures suggest both hope but sadness, yielding a closing descending
phrase of loss. Debuting on solo violin at 1:04 into
"Aubervilliers-aux-Bois," the theme shifts to solo piano at 0:34 into
"Rose" with slightly warm strings behind it, and this stance is repeated
several times. Badly fragmented on piano in "Deep as Your Knees" against
ambient haze, it tingles lightly in the background of "Dream" and
vaguely guides the plucked harp and distant woodwind and strings of "The
Soul of the World." The family theme returns to the harp with the
ensemble and choir joining for a reverent moment in "Vivienne." A
vocalized version in "Songbird" is turned into a score-song hybrid but
is heavily processed, and it becomes more remarkably attractive like the
main theme's "White Bird" arrangement prior to guiding the solo vocal
lullaby in "Little Bird" over piano accompaniment.
As is common to Newman's scores, there are little
vignettes and singular melodic explorations that flow without much
connection throughout this score, and the majority of them have a
positive impact despite their elusive relation to the whole. The most
cohesive of these secondary ideas is his suspense or adversity theme,
which is best identifying using its descending four-note phrases on
piano in "Dannevilliers" that elongate into a somewhat compelling theme.
Extending into the engaging "Winter Spring," this material emerges out
of the atmospheres late in "Puppet Show," is reduced to solo piano in
"Clinging to Hope" against light droning, and opens "Little Bird" on
piano before moving into the family theme in sung lullaby form. More
unique is a dramatic offshoot that remains tentative on strings in "Mlle
Petitjean," and these same tones return in "August 1944" and are joined
by a great moment for solo voice. Two pure sideshows of joy are
lighthearted diversions, the lively trumpet solo of optimistic
chirpiness in "Dress Shoes" followed by pretty flute solos against
acoustic guitar plucking and strings in "Days Weeks." These bright spots
join the performances of the two most major themes to yield enough
satisfying highlights with which to collect a nicely undemanding
listening experience. The best sequence of this collection will come in
the 13 minutes of music from "Vivienne" to "Songbird" at the end, this
culmination forming a wonderful Newman experience to add onto similar
stylings from
Tolkien for a combined arrangement of like-minded
pleasantries from an unusually processed instrumental ensemble. One has
to commend Newman for conducting his processing of manipulated
recordings without becoming overtly obnoxious with them, his techniques
seemingly focused on retaining the core organic feel to his music. This
attention includes a relaxing presence for even the manipulated vocals
that he provides from groups or soloists. In the end,
White Bird
achieves the same end as Zarvos but with far more interesting
soundscapes. Listeners who cannot find peace in Newman's comfort zone
with these tones could arguably label the score a mindless bore, but if
you find yourself attracted to his predictably conservative dramatic
postures for character studies, then there will be more than enough
highlights in this package to recommend.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Thomas Newman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.17
(in 42 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.14
(in 62,583 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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