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Review of The Horse Whisperer (Thomas Newman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you are content within Thomas Newman's comfort zone of
colorful specialty instruments, understated orchestral themes, and
highly personal spirit.
Avoid it... if you demand an epic presence for the setting of Montana and thus might be better served by investigating John Barry's rejected score for the film.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Horse Whisperer: (Thomas Newman) The
best-selling novel by Nicholas Evans was the focus of Robert Redford in
his 1998 screen adaptation that irked some viewers with its altered
Hollywood ending but otherwise wooed audiences with its honest depiction
of soul healing and the beauty of Montana. Over the course of almost
three hours, The Horse Whisperer offers the tragedy and trauma
that injure a girl, her horse, and by association, her family. When they
consult with a "horse whisperer" who can heal the horse's spirit and
thus the others, they embark on a journey to explore and heal the hearts
of everyone involved. The film is melodrama at its finest, and combined
with the spectacular visuals that the region inherently provides, The
Horse Whisperer was a moderate success. More problematic in the
production process was the recording of the soundtrack for the film.
Redford relied upon the steady hand of English veteran John Barry,
master of the epics of nature who had graced the Redford film Out of
Africa with an Oscar-winning score and who had earned another statue
for Dances With Wolves. Barry's career was grinding to a halt by
the late 1990's, his stubborn style of ultra-fluid romantic orchestral
writing finding fewer appropriate matches in the industry. His score for
The Horse Whisperer consisted of more of the same style and, for
whatever reason, Redford decided to jettison Barry in favor of Thomas
Newman, whose score for The Shawshank Redemption had been
temp-tracked into parts of the new project. Speculation about this
replacement has long continued, perpetuated by Barry's eventual release
of his themes for the film on the concert album "The Beyondness of
Things." An examination of that album versus the final score provided by
Newman shows two composers predictably writing from their comfort
zones.
Barry's rejected work is an extension of Dances With Wolves, among others, and thus reflects the magnificent scope of the Montana setting without addressing the intricate relationships in the story. Newman's more dynamic blend of traditional orchestral sounds of Americana with his trademark folksy rhythms and instrumentation, however, covered both bases and is arguably more appropriate for the picture. Ironically, however, while Newman succeeded in providing the flair of character and intimate delicacy that Redford was likely seeking, he lost some of the epic grandeur that the film could have used. Newman's work for The Horse Whisperer is rich with the instrumental diversity that his listeners have come to expect, with an extra emphasis on the Western elements of acoustic guitar and fiddle (along with mandolin, piano, and the synthetic sounds of nature). Despite expectations that Thomas Pasatieri's orchestrations would yield a score similar to James Horner's Legends of the Fall, listeners are instead given the unpredictable and imbalanced ambience of The New World. A few of the folksy rhythms will remind of Danny Elfman's Black Beauty, as will Newman's jubilant, primary theme. Much of the score, surprisingly, meanders in the depths of barely audible dissonance or colorful solos, seeming disorganized and uncommitted to either the heart and personality of the solo accents or the occasional majestic bursts of the orchestral ensemble. The latter parts are more likely to appeal to fans of The Shawshank Redemption and Little Women, and (at the time) was one final venture into that realm before the composer delved into more ambient, experimental sounds. The soft, but never uninviting continuous orchestral murmuring that sustains the "whispering" effect throughout the background of the entire score never becomes too heavy. Nor do its frivolous moments continue so long that they distract from the whole. Newman offers a main theme that is a knockout, but it's badly underutilized. Heard in full only during about five minutes combined in "The Rhythm of the Horse" and "End Title," this relatively simple minor-key theme is among the most attractive creations of Newman's career. Carried by solo flute before yielding to the full ensemble over elegantly strumming guitar and light percussion, these performances are alone worth investigating the entire album. Newman's failure to adapt this theme well into the fabric of his score's softer moments is a definite curiosity and disappointment. His remaining large-scale orchestral outbursts, highlighted by "Montana," offer string and French horn ideas that never relate to form any cohesion with other similar cues. The singular theme in "Montana" could remind Golden Age listeners of Max Steiner's 1963 score for Spencer's Mountain, one of the composer's final works. The late cues "The Very Act of Being" and "The Vast Continent" take their sweeping string crescendos in unique directions, forming distinctly individual high points in The Horse Whisperer that don't leave much of a memorable impression once the score is finished. What the listener will remember from the score is Newman's warm specialty instrumentation and orchestrations, both of which are standard in his career. Overall, however, while the low-key personal temperament of Newman's music may be appropriate for the characters of the film, the score as a whole is not as inspiring as the setting of Montana would suggest. An album of cues presented out of film order doesn't aid in the lack of cohesive core in the music, though any fan of the composer will easily be delighted by a half dozen of the lengthier cues. It may be impossible to compare exactly how John Barry's expansive sound would have complimented the film differently that Newman's replacement work, but it's likely that either score would ultimately have done the job. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 57:54
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert contains extensive credits, but no extra information about the score or film.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Horse Whisperer are Copyright © 1998, Hollywood Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/15/98 and last updated 4/1/08. |
