A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Virtually all film composers get typecast into one genre or another when they are breaking through, but Edward Shearmur seems to have managed to get his career going through writing scores in a wide range of movies - the period drama Wings of the Dove was his breakthrough, the vapid but appealing (if you're in a certain demographic) Charlie's Angels movies being his biggest moneyspinners, dragon movie Reign of Fire allowing him to write his most complex and interesting score, Johnny English allowing him to set his stall out as the man who should be scoring Bond movies.  So we now come to the romantic comedy Laws of Attraction, with the surprisingly upmarket pairing of Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore being its main selling point.

His score is mostly breezy and charming, generally old-fashioned but with a Thomas Newman-style modern element to it.  Dominated by lovely clarinet solos, the score has a soft and undemanding air for the most part, a little like a more subtle version of Marc Shaiman, with some delightful cues, like the light and jazzy main title and slightly more urgent "Chinatown".  "Daniel in the Limelight" is certainly another highlight, featuring a sensitive piano theme before the clarinet plays the main theme with full orchestral accompaniment.  While much of it has a New York cafe kind of feel, the score takes a trip across the pond to Ireland during its middle section, with some surprisingly pleasant writing for a small celtic ensemble in "A Trip to Ireland" and "Idyll", and a couple of later cues.  Of course, Irish music in film scores is becoming ever more prominent, regardless of whether the film has anything to do with Ireland or not (a certain controversial but hugely successful film composer must take most of the blame), but here there is an aura of playful authenticity that makes it more appealing than usual.

Laws of Attraction is a charming and affable score which makes a pleasant album, completely inoffensive and frequently beautiful.  Shearmur has demonstrated admirable versatility in his career so far, and he seems to have done well in most, if not all, of the genres he's been associated with.  Romantic comedies are probably not as easy to score well as people may think, with George Fenton's You've Got Mail and Hans Zimmer's As Good as it Gets being the genre's best over the last few years; this score has a similar heart to both of them, and is just as appealing.

Tracks

1. Maybe Dana Glover (4:01)
2. When Sick, Is It Tea You Want? Temple House (2:26)
3. Main Title (3:31)
4. Meet Mr Rafferty (1:36)
5. Chinatown (2:18)
6. Ambush (:45)
7. A Kiss in the Rain (1:35)
8. Daniel in the Limelight (2:01)
9. Thorne and Serena (:43)
10. A Trip to Ireland (:56)
11. Idyll (1:54)
12. Caravan Romance (1:22)
13. The Castle (1:29)
14. An Irish  Tale (2:31)
15. Man About the House (1:07)
16. Audrey's Ring (1:28)
17. Daniel Asleep (2:29)
18. Daniel in the Doorway (2:14)
19. Love at Last (3:29)
20. Coda (2:14)