THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

ELMER BERNSTEIN

Rating:

Original Review: The Age of Innocence has been labeled by some venerable movie critics as "the most violent movie Martin Scorsese has ever made" - and this about the man who gave the world such shocking films as Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas. The violence in this case is not physical, but emotional and psychological, as the unbreakable customs, graces and manners of 1890s New York high society are fully brought to bear upon illicit lovers Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer, who dare not reveal their true feelings for each other for fear of dishonouring and undermining their families and their heritage.

Accompanied by equally stunning cinematography by Michael Ballhaus and costume design by Gabriella Pescucci, Elmer Bernstein's exquisite, lyrical Oscar-nominated score effortlessly captures the stifling but refined elegance of the era through long, lustrous string strokes that wash over the listener like a veneer of satin. In a way, Bernstein's score is a perfect musical depiction of the era. Many cues are written in the style of a waltz which - like the period illustrated by the film - is beautiful and graceful on the surface, but is rigidly held in place by a set of precise, unbendable, unquestionable rules which cannot be altered in the slightest for fear of upsetting the delicate balance. Despite the attractiveness of the music, however, quite a few of the tracks in this generous album do tend to meld into one another after a while, and towards the end of the score the endless repeated phrases do tend to be just a little tiresome.

The whole thing is built almost solely upon variations of the lush main theme, written for a full and majestic orchestra, which is given a complete rendition in the opening track, 'The Age of Innocence'. Some of the cues do stand out from the rest - 'Archer's Books' and 'Blenker Farm' feature a slightly downbeat oboe refrains, while 'Passage of Time' provides a noticeably full-bodied performance of the central theme. 'Archery' is another attractive waltz, but this time with a gentler pace; 'Pick Up Ellen' and 'Madame Olenska' both have slightly tragic, emotional denouements, and 'End Credits', as one would expect, brings things to a close with a final rendition of the lovely theme. By far the best, however, is 'Van Der Luydens', which has to be one of most attractive pieces of music I have ever heard. I seem to remember it being used to great effect in the trailers for A Walk In The Clouds back in 1994 and, although it now seems something of a cliché to say, it really does conjure up images of elegant parties, sparking jewellery and ladies in swirling crinolines dancing to the magnificent music. It's only 2:17 long but, by God, it sounds fantastic.

Three source music selections by Gounod, Strauss and Strauss II further enhance the sense of time and place, especially Strauss II's 'Radetzky March', which continually causes me to wave my arms in the air and conduct like a mad Austrian every time I hear it. Having spent some time in Vienna during the summer of 1998, I now fully understand why that city was such a wonderful inspiration for so many classical composers. It's all a long way from the likes of The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven, but it just goes to show how versatile, capable and imaginative our film composers are. Bernstein may have been 71 when he wrote it, but The Age of Innocence is infused with as much passion, sensitivity and creativeness as any young whippersnapper nowadays can muster.

Track Listing: Running Time: 64 minutes 40 seconds

Epic Soundtrax 474576-2 (1993)

Music composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein. Orchestrations by Emilie A. Bernstein. Album produced by Elmer Bernstein and Emilie A. Bernstein.

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