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It may sound unfair, but casual
moviegoers will remember the name of Christophe Beck only if they are fans
of the television hit series Buffy
the Vampire Slayer. The Montreal-based composer originally scored for
television, and specifically in Buffy,
he composed the best scores for the show, for the second and third seasons
(and even won an Emmy award for this work). But Christophe Beck has also
scored numerous films in virtually every genre, spanning from the teen
comedy Bring It On to the noir
film Confidence. Beck's credits
in 2003 include Just Married, American
Wedding and Dickie Roberts.
Under
The Tuscan Sun is based on Frances Mayes'
novel and was adapted to the big screen by director and screenwriter Audrey
Wells. On the film Diane Lane plays the novelist, Mayes, who has recently
divorced and is suffering from writer's block and depression. She decides to
move on and buys a villa in the Tuscan countryside, maybe a way to bring
back her writing inspiration. The film, clearly women-oriented, is an
attempt to recycle those old romantic comedies where Americans found love
and a better life on exotic Mediterranean locations. Audrey Wells said that
Beck's score "infused the film with yearning, humor, pathos and
beauty." Christophe Beck previously worked with Wells on her feature
"Guinevere." Beck is a versatile composer and achieved a kind of
"female sensibility" for this score, which sounds definitively
romantic.
As said in the album liner notes,
Beck composed a score using three musical voices, which he braided together.
One voice is contemporary, for Lane's character, Frances; another pays
homage to Fellini's composer, the unforgettable Nino Rota; and the third is
a comic/romantic interpretation of Italian life. My favorite track is the
first one, "Follow the Flower", the main motif that is reprised in
the "End Titles" in a lightly different arrangement. It is pure
Beck and the best example from the primary, modern character’s
contemporary style. We can find sensibilities of Nino Rota's typical music
for the genre in tracks like "I Broke my Heart in San Francisco",
"Ice Cream", "Katherine’s Fountain" (with a nice use
of the violin). And there is music suitable for both comic and romantic
elements of the light-hearted, Italian lifestyle - "Bramasole",
"Three Stooges" "Buyer’s Remorse". Despite these three
styles the score is consistent and solid, due to the composer’s skills.
Besides the partial
orchestra (with lots of strings, but with only four brass players), the
composer employs an ensemble with guitar, piano, violin, accordion,
clarinet, oboe and boy soprano voice. There are sensible melodies like the
beautiful "Blue Umbrellas" and "Gaudeamus"/"My
Wish", the latter featuring the boy’s voice which, along the violin,
obtains a touching effect. The score outcome is not thematic, as one could
expect. Sadly enough, it is another example of the non-thematic trend that
dominates the contemporary film music. Besides the homage to Rota and enough
music to establish the Italian setting, there is not a great theme to take
us to Tuscany. I would rather hear here music with a greater sense of scope,
but anyway Under The Tuscan Sun provides a nice listening experience that you
can truly enjoy. Either if you are Buffy’s
fan or not.
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