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A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

This is a slightly odd score really, a wholly inconsequential effort in the grand scheme of things simply because every idea in it has been done better by Jerry Goldsmith elsewhere.  The definite highlight is the lilting, beautiful main theme, a gossamer-thin piece that sounds so fragile it will give way any minute; the trouble is, it's heard so frequently during the album that you're tired of it by the end.  The film is one of the most successful Goldsmith scored during the 1990s (believe it or not!), with Julia Roberts being a virtual guarantee of box office success at the time.  The film saw Roberts play an abused wife who faked her own death because she saw it as the only way to escape her brutal husband, though of course it didn't work.

The score's main problem is the action music (believe it or not); it's not that it's all that bad, it's just that Goldsmith has done it so much better on so many other occasions.  The best tracks are certainly the ones based around the main theme, especially "Spring Cleaning", a splendidly idyllic portrait of suburban bliss, but even the theme does outstay its welcome by the time the brief album has come to a close.  Of the action tracks, "The Ring" is probably the most impressive, but only in the same way as something like the one action cue in Love Field is fairly impressive.  Elsewhere, the action and suspense music is basically a few electronic clangs and brass stings just filling in gaps before the main theme appears again.

Comparisons with Love Field are obvious, but I feel that this is nowhere near so strong, with simply not enough variety or movement.  It's that rare thing, a Goldsmith score that seems to lack direction, and while it suits the picture like a glove the album just isn't interesting enough.

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Tracks

1. Morning on the Beach (2:33)
2. The Funeral (3:24)
3. Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison (3:06)
4. Thanks Mom (4:26)
5. Spring Cleaning (2:30)
6. The Ring (2:09)
7. A Brave Girl (3:50)
8. Fears (2:56)
9. What Did He Do? (2:28)
10. The Storm (3:13)
11. The Carnival (2:54)
12. Remember This (7:57)