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Artwork copyright (c) 2004 New Line
Productions, Inc.; review copyright (c) 2005 James Southall
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THE NOTEBOOK Touching
and sensitive score from newcomer A review by JAMES SOUTHALL The critically-acclaimed The Notebook tells the story
of an old woman, suffering from Alzheimer's, whose husband reads her accounts of
their happy days together when younger. It's a simple but effective
concept and the movie benefited from good performances - as youngsters the
couple are played by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, and in later life by James
Garner and Gena Rowlands. Providing the score was newcomer Aaron Zigman,
writing only his second score for a full-length movie - and doing a very fine
job of it. The album opens with the main title piece, a tender and
touching piano theme which is tinged with nostalgia and sadness, wonderfully
summing up the movie; this is later further developed in the excellent
"Noah's Journey". Perhaps the real highlight of the album is the
lengthy "Overture" (which rather oddly is the second track) with a
sweeping, rousing, dazzlingly beautiful theme which sometimes echoes John Barry,
though probably goes bigger than he would have done. This style is
certainly not the predominant one, however, with the gentle, anguish-laden tone
set up in the opening track the dominant factor. It's (dare I say)
haunting music, emotional and beautifully (and appropriately) restrained. Alongside Zigman's fine score, which runs for about 35 minutes
plus an 8-minute source cue composer by him, come various period standards by
the likes of Bille Holiday and Duke Ellington which work reasonably well
alongside the score (surprisingly so, in fact) but remove much of its impact and
to get the emotional effect Zigman intended they must be programmed out.
Otherwise, this is an impressive album, released by New Line Records in the
States and, as a result of their new partnership, Silva Screen in Europe.
Recommended. Buy
this CD from amazon.com by clicking here! Tracks |