Tuesday, July 28, 2009

If this is love...

As a Civil War afficianado, I enjoyed Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain
(1997), the story of a North Carolina soldier who deserts from the
Confederate army and journeys back home to the woman he left
behind. That's the general synopsis; the actual book is much more
complex and layered. It's a challenging read, full of detail and nuance,
and a heartrending story; without giving away the ending, I'll simply
note that everyone doesn't live happily ever after.

As with every book I've enjoyed I made a point of seeing
purposes (the old saw that the film isn't as good as the book is true
here, although it isn't really bad). Some time later I purchased the
soundtrack album, which was an interesting compilation of
and the usual film score segments.

Most of the score is based on a particular piano figure that sounds
somewhat antebellum in mood, and it works fairly well. However,
one track that has confused me is "Love Theme".

What's confusing about it? Well, have a listen...

Does that sound even remotely romantic to you?!? Personally I
think it sounds more like the menacing title music for the Lord of the
Rings trilogy. If I heard that in the midst of a love scene betwen
Inman (Jude Law) and Ada (Nicole Kidman), I'd wonder if they were
about to be set upon by a band of orcs!

Perhaps Minghella was watching too much Rebecca when he
composed this part of the score, confusing the macabre with the
sensuous.

Anyway, I'd like to suggest renaming this piece: "Melancholy Theme".

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