| Hart's War |
| Composed by Rachel Portman |
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Conducted by David Snell Orchestrated by Jeff Atmajian Release Date: 2002 |
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It’s not often that I receive a Rachel Portman score, and when I do, I usually find some excuse to let it sit on the shelf. The trailers for Hart’s War have looked interesting, and given that it is a film set during World War II, I decided to give it a spin. Ultimately, this score is not what one would typically expect of a war film (but then again, I have heard that Hart’s War is not a typical war film either). Still, I found it to be rather enjoyable, with a few caveats. The opening title gives a good indication of what is to come. It consists of a lush melody on top of some beautiful string work. The score gets a lot of use out of the motifs and themes that Portman composes, though they tend to all mush together since the score tends to be atmospheric in nature. The continuous plucking away of the string section in some areas help build tension, but it can become too much after a while. Certain tracks seem to only exist to construct one layer of tension over another and sometimes they get bogged down before the music finally moves off in a new direction. As far as composition goes, Portman really knows her stuff. The music is primarily string and woodwind based and the use of brass is held back until it is absolutely needed. This gives the score a unique feel and tends to favor musical characterization as opposed to simply “mickey-mousing” the action on-screen. While the middle two-thirds of the score tend to drag on, the two final cues display excellent work by Portman, though I wish more of the score had contained similar moments. Those expecting the adrenaline rush of a typical war score would do well to avoid this one, as it rarely ever gets loud. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of Rachel Portman’s work, or you are looking for a more somber, emotionally driven score, then this would be one to check out. *** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 45:10 | |
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