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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Young Woman and the Sea (Amelia Warner)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... for one of the most dramatically wholesome and
inspirational sports scores in cinematic history, Amelia Warner rising
to the occasion with simple tonalities that work wonders in the
picture.
Avoid it... if your brain cannot accept the general lack of complication to this score, or if you have an aversion to synthetic and rhythmic infusions that will remind you of Enya's heyday.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Young Woman and the Sea: (Amelia Warner) Originally
targeting Disney's streaming platform only, the 2024 historical drama
Young Woman and the Sea impressed the studio to such a degree
that it was awarded a limited theatrical release as well. Met with high
acclaim from audiences and based on the life of famed female swimmer
Gertrude (Trudy) Ederle, the story takes some liberty with the
particulars of its characters but follows all the basics of sports
underdog conventions, raising ethnic and gender issues of the 1920's
along the way. Daisy Ridley stars as Trudy, who survives both the
measles and the overbearing social limitations of her strict German
upbringing in New York City to achieve her dream of becoming a swimmer
along with her sister. She excels at the sport and eventually competes
in the 1924 Olympics, but her determination to swim across the English
Channel earns her the reputation that yields a world record and a
massive parade back in New York. Before getting there, however, she
perseveres through setbacks caused by gender restrictions and an
adversarial coach, constantly pushing the boundaries and her physical
capabilities. It's an ultimate feel-good film in a genre rich with
aspiring entries, and the filmmakers knew they needed an inspiring
orchestral score to help push Trudy through the waves. Although the
director and producer had collaborated with the broader realm of Hans
Zimmer and Remote Control compositional team through the years with
great success, they specifically sought a female composer for Young
Woman and the Sea. This task wasn't easy, as being a Jerry
Bruckheimer production, the sound of the movie was inevitably destined
to followed a more masculine sonic personality than a 1920's topic about
a female swimmer might suggest. Despite working with Geoff Zanelli
prior, the filmmakers ultimately leaned on Lorne Balfe to help produce
this score. The extent to which his involvement guided the final product
is unknown, but the score does espouse countless characteristics of
distinct Zimmer/Balfe heritage. The sole compositional credit, however,
fell on English actress-turned-composer Amelia Warner.
To say that Young Woman and the Sea was a dream assignment for Warner would be an understatement, as it not only allowed her the ability to write a score for a major studio but also enter the Bruckheimer and Balfe realm of career success. She professes to having long wanted to write film scores despite no classical, formal training, parlaying both her musical abilities and connections in the industry via her acting career to make that happen. Often times, such transitions result in marginal careers, but Warner had shown promise in her early works, and any coaching or technical assistance she may have received from Balfe helped her take the next important step. Her first major score was Mary Shelley in 2018, which not only previewed the female vocal tones heard in Young Woman and the Sea but also laid the groundwork for the use of contemporary percussion and electronic backing with an orchestral ensemble. Her prior two scores, Wild Mountain Thyme (2020) and Mr. Malcolm's List (2022), contained very promising lyrical sensibilities, often utilizing cyclical rhythmic formations. Informing the 2024 score in particular is the propulsive spirit of "The Chase" from Mr. Malcolm's List and "Lost in Darkness and Distance" from Mary Shelley. Warner also showed an affinity for prominent string solos that carries over as well. These early works were all three-star efforts with some appealing highlights, though nothing could prepare listeners for the sudden advancement the composer conveys in Young Woman and the Sea. Warner admits having listened to some of the most famous sports scores of the Bronze and Digital eras of film music in preparation for this project, and it's no surprise that you hear her picking up techniques from a classic like Vangelis' Chariots of Fire in how she structures her rhythmic motifs and selects her instrumentation. Her choice of ensemble is fairly conventional, strings and brass accented at times by lone woodwind flourishes and a few prominent placements for piano. More important to the score is that she and the filmmakers determined that a strictly 1920's sound wasn't going to work for this story. There is plenty of source music applied to serve that need in snippets between the nearly omnipresent score cues. In the end, Warner constructed a very contemporary score for Young Woman and the Sea, one that makes no attempt to address the setting or time period but rather tackles the sports underdog element wholeheartedly in Vangelis spirit. She has stated that each iteration of the work continuously pushed this counterintuitive strategy further, with some of the music ultimately taking a 1990's new age tilt. The thematic constructs are all rather simplistic in their rendering despite being long-lined throughout, the melodic emphasis reinforced by an unyielding tonal atmosphere that rarely dwells in discordant challenges, even when the story throws barriers at Trudy. Don't approach the score expecting layers of counterpoint in the themes or particularly unusual instrumental applications. This is a score about heart, and to that end, it succeeds brilliantly. The aforementioned adherence to Zimmer and Balfe traditions is brazen but extremely well executed. Although Warner professed to appreciating Zimmer's score for A League of Their Own, her approach to Young Woman and the Sea has far more in common with Zimmer's power anthem sensibilities of the late 1980's and early 1990's. The chugging string ostinatos and open brass are supplemented by a percussion element so resounding that it at times achieves the pinball machine effect that highlighted Backdraft. A solo electric cello is applied to help reinforce the bass while a regular cello supplies character gravity. The electric cello and synthetics of the score were meant to compete favorably with the sound effects of the water, and they do so with ease in the final film mix. It's tough to find a good balance between the orchestral players, choir, and the synthetic sweeteners in the bass for these kinds of scores, but Warner absolutely nails that combination here, the resonance of the music highly effective without broadcasting to the listener that such overlays exist in most cues. The score sounds fantastic in the film's surround mix, its placement often at the forefront of the overall soundscape. This was a story that required the music to crank up the drama of the visuals, as there are multitudes of times when there is minimal dialogue (and sometimes questionable special effects) and the score has to carry the impact almost entirely. Few films benefit from the obvious presence of their music as much as this one. Warner's adherence to melodic tonality in Young Woman and the Sea is admirable, but because she seems more inspired by the Jerry Goldsmith model of long-lined themes rather than the Vangelis alternative, causal listeners may only recall the B phrase of the main melody by the end. Despite remaining faithful to her three primary themes for Trudy, Warner also tends to take these ideas off into tangents that then recur on their own, forming a web of related motifs that often share similar simplistic chord progressions. Normally, such meandering can cause narrative issues, but with the whole set of themes staying true to those related progressions and their renderings all masterfully conveying the emotional drama necessary, the use still works. Of the three themes for Trudy, the main one anchors the opening and closing of the film and comes in two parts. This long melody offers a distinctive sense of resolution in its phrasing, frequently heard over churning strings, and it eventually comes to represent the character's legacy and reputation. The film opens with two statements of the theme's A phrase in "Sisters," and the also lengthy B phrase for the concept of victory at 1:06 adds choir and repeats multiple times. At numerous points throughout the score, Warner applies the underlying chords of the B phrase even if the melody is absent, and that technique starts here. Those chords from the B phrase continue with anticipation alone in "First Race" and persist to begin "My Hero Was You" on pretty strings and choir before Warner tenderly expresses the A phrase of the main theme on piano. Whenever the composer uses the light, female choral tones in these choral chord shifts for the B phrase, there is a tonal resonance that reminds of Howard Shore's simpler beauty of The Lord of the Rings. A pleasant wash of the shifting chords for strings develop into the A phrase of the theme in "The Channel Plan," and the chords on choir continue with a notable woodwind solo for the B phrase at the start of "Reaction to Failure." The main theme prevails with a comforting piano moment at 0:43 into "Family Arrives" while the B phrase's chords encourage with force in the middle of "Jellyfish." (The withholding of resolving bass in these chords until Trudy begins exiting the field of jellyfish is an outstanding technique of payoff within the cue.) The A phrase then offers an unresolved glimmer of hope in "Entering the Shallows." The finale of Young Woman and the Sea is where Trudy's main theme flourishes in extended performances at the forefront of the film's mix, pushing the drama to the maximum. The chords of the B phrase slowly add optimism amid fragments of the theme in "Distant Lights," and those formations transition to the choir at the outset of "Beach Celebration" for Trudy's disbelief in reaching the sand on England. The A phrase of the theme reaches its moment of catharsis at 1:11, with a vocalized choral sequence at 1:38, and the B phrase cements its place as a representation of victory at 2:08. The A phrase is then restrained by a distinguished brass performance at the start of "Triumphant Return" before the B phrase offers grandeur at 1:04 on choir and strings for the New York parade. Warner can't maintain that level of majesty indefinitely, though, and she applies a gorgeous piano rendition at the start of "Gertrude Ederle's Legacy" for the archival footage of the real-life person. Along with the shift to choir, this cue has James Horner tendencies in its coda rendering, and a tasteful reminder of the B phrase even closes the cue on piano. Despite the power of the theme in "Beach Celebration" and "Triumphant Return," it's the diminished and respectful beauty of "Gertrude Ederle's Legacy" that really reaches the heart. The second major theme for Trudy in Young Woman and the Sea represents her races, the most serious and adversarial theme, and one often expressed with low brass tones. Built from the same chords as the B phrase of the main theme and sharing ascending movements, this idea is suggested but never explicitly revealed in "First Race." It's explored significantly in "Sisters Race the Australians," however, increasing its intensity as the cue progresses before eventually reducing to solo piano over strings and synth atmosphere at the end. The race theme promises to build to its full form in "1924 Olympic Races" but fails to do so when Trudy doesn't perform as well as expected. It returns to full power in "Swim to Penners" as Trudy beats the clock to prove herself, though, and Warner shifts its purpose in the solemn "Lost in the Shallows" to suggest the theme as a race against time on piano. In response, the theme develops into a major string and choral rendition as people on the land in England build fires to help guide her. This theme is included as one of the major pieces of the score repeated in the end credits assembly, coming after the reprise of the main theme at the credits' outset. Perhaps the flashiest and certainly the coolest identity in Young Woman and the Sea is what Warner terms the "free spirit" theme. The last major theme written for the film, it is applied by the composer for Trudy's rebellious nature and perseverance, and it comes to dominate early portions of the film. There are obvious Enya sensibilities in the instrumentation and movement of this theme, and some listeners may not be able to overcome reminiscence over "Orinoco Flow" and other Enya classics to accept this idea in context. But it works wonders to illuminate the character's urge to chart a different path forward. Heard at 2:12 into "Trudy Survives" as the girl unexpectedly defeats the measles, this theme formally introduces its purpose in "Free Spirit" and dominates the film with its exuberance during several early scenes. (It is heard more often in the story here than the album would suggest.) The free spirit theme then enjoys a straight reprise as it generates momentum in "Trudy Escapes" for the humorous scene. It's hard not to feel the warmth of this affable idea in each of its reverb-laden iterations, timpani reinforcing the bottom of its rhythm alongside the obvious, watery synthetics. Warner's secondary motifs in Young Woman and the Sea are a bit muddy at times in the attribution, but they generally hit the right tones and utilize appropriate instrumentation at recurring moments to remind the listeners of connections between scenes. A family theme is a somber and serious cello representation of especially the concept of family duty. Opening "Trudy Survives" in inverted form on piano and strings as the girl battles the measles, the theme yields a grim, brass-accompanied moment of gravity as a doctor announces that the girl is expected to die. This material provides a moment of worry in the middle of "First Attempt" and expresses continued concern on cello and piano in "Family Arrives." In context, the solo cello is typically supplied as an immediate representation of Trudy's parents in scenes of fussing. Warner also provides a pair of sports-related inspirations for the latter scenes of adversity and success, one of them being a prelude to the other. The first sequentially is a "challenge" motif, a Goldsmith-like descending pair of phrases that forms an introduction on brass in "Winning Montage" and later recurs on elegant piano. It also opens "First Attempt" and returns on choir at 0:39 in that cue, thereafter only very lightly hinted at the start of "Swim Trudy Swim" on flutes and plucking. More of this idea would have been greatly welcomed. The final motif in Young Woman and the Sea is the natural extension of the challenge motif, one for "winning" that is a unique variation of the race theme and serves as a distinct, driving sports identity. This idea receives fuller treatment in "First Attempt," including a rousing conclusion, but dissolves to solo cello in the fear and frustration of "Wolfe's Sabotage," culminating in more robust renditions of seriousness as Trudy is poisoned in the water. The winning theme explores a more streamlined, snare-driven variant in "We Go to England or Die Trying," and that offshoot sticks around to inspire "Swim Trudy Swim," reducing to solo piano and cello during her second attempt. Warner explores a few other singular ideas throughout the score, from the determined optimism of "Travel to the Channel" to the growling electric cello early "Entering the Shallows." Generally, though, the entirety of Young Woman and the Sea is well developed, and while some listeners may fault Warner for concocting rather simplistic structures and melodies for this score, not to mention the inevitable Enya connections to the free spirit theme, the approach works wonders in the movie. This story didn't require complexity or nuance; rather, Warner was tasked by the filmmakers with elevating the dramatic scope of the film as much as possible via overly tonal and propulsive themes of wholesome heart rather than sheer intellect. It's no surprise that she confesses that each iteration of the score got grander and grander as it developed. As mentioned before, the surround mix of the score within the film is absolutely stellar, enveloping the soundscape in the primary position during countless scenes. Few scores have such a monumental impact upon their films as this one, and the album, which omits all of the source music intermittently applied to the picture, is a highly satisfying listening experience as well. Not all the music from early scenes is represented on that 56-minute product, including additional free spirit and family theme renditions along with a dose of the gloomier material. Had this music been included, the narrative on the album would have been improved and the tone more varied. Since the end credits of the film simply rotate between the major themes except for the free spirit one, the album concludes with the extraordinarily effective "Gertrude Ederle's Legacy," among the best understated epilogues to grace a film score in years. In the end, Young Woman and the Sea represents a major leap forward for Warner and notches its place among the most inspirationally dramatic sports scores in history. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 55:32
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for this album.
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