MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

GABRIEL YARED

Rating:

Original Review: Since winning the Oscar for The English Patient four years ago, French/Lebanese composer Gabriel Yared has had a surprisingly tough time following up his success. The scores he wrote for Les Misérables and The Wings of the Dove were unceremoniously dumped from the final versions of the films, while his beautiful work for City of Angels was limited to just four tracks at the end of a song compilation. It is to the relief of many that Message In A Bottle has not suffered the same fate, and that Atlantic has seen fit to release nearly 50 minutes of music on an album totally devoted to Yared.

The film, directed by Luis Mandoki, is adapted from the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks and stars Robin Wright Penn as a lonely Chicago journalist who, while out jogging on the beach one day, finds a message in a bottle - a heartfelt love letter, written to a woman named Catherine by a mysterious person named 'G'. A bit of detective work leads Wright-Penn to the door of a simple Carolina boat builder played by Kevin Costner, and the two gradually embark upon a hesitant, but eventually passionate romance. There is nothing pretentious or unconventional about this film - it's a straightforward tale about two adults discovering each other and, through their love, putting their pasts behind them and looking to the future. It has genuine emotions, genuine sentiment, and genuine performances from the rugged Costner, the directionless Penn and especially Paul Newman as Costner's gruff but worldly-wise father.

One of the criticisms aimed at Gabriel Yared after his Oscar triumph was that his themes were never developed fully enough to leave a truly lasting impression. His orchestration and craftsmanship were superb, but it was felt that there was just a little something missing from the overall effect which stopped it from capturing the emotions as well as it might. In a sense, Message In A Bottle is the perfect answer to the critics who faulted him. From the outset, it is obvious that this is an archetypal Yared score, with the characteristically heavy emphasis on strings, and the familiar slow, circular movement of the melodies prevalent throughout - a style which is especially effective here as it seems to conjure up images of the sea, and gentle waves lapping on a beach. As he did with City of Angels, Yared makes regular and excellent use of a classical guitar in several cues, the performance of which adds a real sense of longing and yearning to the music. The gentle, optimistic main theme is first heard in the second track - 'New Dreams' - and is given further recapitulations in the guitar-led 'Separate Lives', the dreamy 'Blue Atlantic Mystery', the reflective 'The One Person In The World', and the quietly sorrowful 'The Outer Banks'. A heartfelt, idyllic secondary theme for Wright-Penn's character is introduced in 'Theresa', a beautiful cue written for a solo piano and flute which seems to embrace John Barry's romantic style from scores such as Frances. In addition, the intimate piano solo by Yared himself in 'Tell Me About Catherine' exudes feelings of serenity and peace, while the livelier 'Where The Boundaries Are' has a surprising, warm Latin influence that introduces a bit of passion and light-heartedness to the proceedings.

Where Message In A Bottle really comes into its own, though, is during the tracks where Yared incorporates a soul-stirring choir into the mix. In cues such as 'Images of the Past', the spectacular 'Finding The Bottle', and the lush 'Some Lives Form A Perfect Circle' the music takes on an almost religious reverence, and can only be described as "heavenly". By far the best tracks, however, are the utterly heartbreaking 'Storm' and 'Last Letter', in which Yared allows his main theme to rise to grand, almost operatic proportions as Costner's character makes the ultimate sacrifice for his love. The music swells like the massive waves that engulf his tiny boat, and the choir sings a tragic lament for the fate of the ultimately doomed relationship. Trust me, you'll love it. Anyone with a romantic bone in their body cannot fail to be affected by this score. While the stately pace and somewhat introspective overall tone may not appeal to action music fans, those with an occasional penchant for simple, attractive music will find much to enjoy here. Message In A Bottle is a score which needs to be properly listened to, and not heard as "background music", because it is in the delicacy of the orchestration that the magic truly lies. If anyone out there was put off Yared by the mishandled English Patient CD, I strongly suggest you listen to this. In my opinion, it's the romantic score of the year to date, and it will take some beating.

Track Listing:

Running Time: 48 minutes 28 seconds

143/Atlantic 83179-2 (1999)

Music composed by Gabriel Yared. Conducted by Harry Rabinowitz. Orchestrations by Gabriel Yared and John Bell. Featured musical soloists Gabriel Yared, Skaila Kanga, Nick Bucknall, Mitch Dalton, Colin Green and Clem Clempson. Special vocal performances by Jenny O'Grady and Metro Voices. Recorded and mixed by John Richards. Edited by Robert Randles. Mastered by Tony Dawsey. Album produced by Gabriel Yared and Robert Randles.


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