A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

After scoring all those chick flicks one after another, Rachel Portman took a (presumably deliberate) 90-degree turn in her career a couple of years ago, branching out into more serious territory, working on more challenging films but not necessarily blessing them with scores as good as those she was so good at writing for fluffier fare - her fans, built up during the days of Emma and Only You, were less-than-thrilled by scores such as Beloved, Hart's War, The Truth About Charlie and The Human Stain, and rightly so - she seemed to take a concious decision to avoid being typecast, but in doing so took work on films for which she really wasn't so well-suited.  

Mona Lisa Smile was, therefore, a welcome return to chick flick territory; it's a kind of female version of Dead Poets' Society, or at least it wants to be, but is not nearly so good; the cast is nice to look at though, including Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles.  You don't need more than a bar of the music to identify it as having come from Portman's pen - warm, lush orchestrations, strings and horn chords, a pleasant flute theme - all the cliches of her work are there.  But no matter how many times she does essentially the same thing, it always makes for a pleasant and rewarding listening experience.  Unfortunately, the same problems that make her extremely similar scores for things like The Cider House Rules and Chocolat ultimately slightly unsatisfying are present here: once you go beyond the gorgeous main theme, there's really nothing there.  It's a beautiful piece, but after you hear it for the umpteenth time without variation, its appeal wanes.  The other parts of the score - mild suspense, subtle pieces written presumably for talky scenes - just aren't very interesting, exercises in mood rather than music.  

Strangely - despite it being by far her best score in a couple of years, and being just as good as her most famous and popular works - there has been no score album for Mona Lisa Smile, so if you want to hear it, you must try to get your hands on the promotional album sent to members of AMPAS in advance of the Oscar nomination process.  Evidently the album didn't work for that, since Portman didn't secure a nomination, but I'm sure that any fans of her attractive works of the past will lap this one up; and I'm equally sure that anyone who fancies something a bit more substantial will be disappointed.  There's a lovely theme and this is a pleasant enough half hour, but sometimes you just wish Portman would take her music a bit further.

Tracks

1. Opening Titles (1:59)
2. Betty Goes to Joan at Night (2:24)
3. Amanda is Dismissed (1:33)
4. Jackson Pollock (3:19)
5. Bike Ride (3:49)
6. Giselle Waits for Bill (2:19)
7. The Roles You Were Born to Fill (1:34)
8. Betty Challenges  Katherine (3:54)
9. We Will Never Forget You (2:18)
10. Why Couldn't You Let Me Be Happy? (1:53)
11. Katherine's First Lecture (1:39)
12. Paul Leaves (2:07)
13. End Credits (2:36)