Lady in the Water

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Is the magic of M. Night Shyamalan dozing off? Is his inspiration losing its effect? With the undeniable brilliant Sixth Sense, his underestimated strong Unbreakable and his very intellectual Signs, fans were witnessing movie magic from the first row and presented in the highest original standard. With The Village, things didn't seem what they were and people didn't like that there wasn't anything supernatural about the whole story. Now completely fantastical Lady in the Water is but what doesn't work out remains to be seen. Because time will tell if the movie will stand the test of time. However box office estimations don't predict much good and Lady in the Water slipped too easily, too quickly from theaters around the world. I haven't seen the movie yet and thereby can't comment of the movie's effect, but I can comment on the man who supported the director's rise to stardom and that is James Newton Howard. Hollywood's golden hero alongside Howard Shore and Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard is the new batch of A-list composers that has to equal the dominant position of the hot shots and I must say, the last 5 years he has been doing nothing but equaling their status. With Snow Falling on Cedars, Unbreakable, Dinosaur, Atlantis, Signs, Peter Pan, Hidalgo, The Village and King Kong, Newton Howard has made some of the most enjoyable scores of their years. And not surprisingly, almost all of Shyamalan's movies are named here, just to show Newton Howard understood Night's fantastic vision from day one. With Lady in the Water he shows there is no stopping the continuation of that vision because it damn sure sounds wonderful again. The story of Lady in the Water demanded for a fantasy score, a sweet score and yet the dark threat of its sea creatures assured there would be plenty of time for Howard to rip roar his darker voice as well. And that this CD amplifies that all in about 40 minutes shows Newton Howard did do another wonderful job in bringing life and emotion to a Night telling for young and old.

Well not perhaps for the youngest because the movie apparently is quite frightening but then were the others of Night as well. Howard however opens sweet his score in 'Prologue', ethereal Brainstorm choir, a light fantasy tinkling and the main theme or blue world theme adeptly showing its fantasy quality. What's above all surprising about this opening track is the truly amazing piano moment that almost never resurfaces again in the score and that's a true shame, however more amazing here even is that almost all of the trailer music is from the actual film, here showing the darkness theme mysteriously and the soft gentle grow of pure fantasy music after that just gives me goosebumps time and time again. The score doesn't appear to be in order and I don't know how any of the scenes interact with one another, but the score does work fine in its order here. 'The Party' begins with a percussive light unnerving tone and the viola's don't help in that either but the mystery of the danger theme does surface again. With 'Charades' we come sadly to what I would have said to be an unwelcome rip off because the track sure does sound so similar to The Final Cut of Brian Tyler with its whispering flutes and mood, yet luckily Howard doesn't fool you for long and his choir, piano, danger and main theme adds life and fantasy again to the whole proceeding. 'Ripples in the Pool' is relaxing before a piano is heard stating yet more of the trailer music. 'The Blue World' brings back the eerie mystery music but also has the danger theme heard more prominent here and that's a good sign indeed. 'Giving the KII' has a tinkling version of the main theme before its repeated on gentle horns while 'Cereal Boxes' has an elegant version of the main blue world theme. However Howard is always famous for delivering Night's visionary climaxes and this score is no different, first 'The Healing' brings back the piano and luckily also the inspirational prologue material before the magical rise of the main theme and thereby choir doesn't let a note go by where you think fantasy and nothing but fantasy.

However, like in Signs, Howard has a true climax waiting for you in 'The Great Eatlon' and here he just pulls out all the stops. First the trailer music or adeptly named danger music begins to sizzle longer and louder with the brass and almost an epic choral moment, before the amazing blue world theme just gets amazement written all over it with a choral version. Like in Sings, when Howard does this right you're so blown away from all the quality surrounding it. But the track continues to add further spice to the fantasy by letting the danger material erupt in faster orchestral blasts and a final resolution of the main theme, truly stunning. Of course it can't compete with The Hand of Fate's pure musical wizardry (in strength and more) but if Signs' big climax does deserve a 10/10, then Lady in the Water's finish surely deserves an 8. The 'End Title' ends with nice soothing piano music, stating an underused theme of track 4. The songs that follow after this are a mixed bag, they are all written by Bob Dylan and 'The Times they are A-Changin' and 'Every Grain of Sand' do feel at home with the tone of the movie, they are ethereal and fantasy in mood, even though both feel very similar alike in tone. Yet that can't be said at all about the final 2 which are lame excuses to surface on a CD accomplished as this. Truly out of tone with everything else and a joke to end this CD, its a shame they end a truly remarkable listening experience and I urge you to never listen to them again. But if songs can ruin an experience like this, it must show aplenty that James Newton Howard again weaved his magical spell upon you and made you believe you were diving deep down to meet the Blue World in person. Even without having seen the picture, he leaves his mark firmly on the story's begin, middle and end. And for a composer there isn't a greater compliment then to pinpoint out the music adds unseen fantasy to a movie, and pure wonder outside outside of it. It doesn't have the complete utter thrill of Signs or the true wondrous feel of Unbreakable or the at times truly marvelous beauty of The Village, but like those 3, you have witnessed yet again a truly remarkable pairing of vision, class and emotion which you can find deep down the Blue World time and time again.

Score: ****
Songs: **1/2

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Prologue (2.51) Excellent Track

2. The Party (6.40)

3. Charades (5.50) Excellent Track

4. Ripples In The Pool (1.49)

5. The Blue World (4.25)

6. Giving The KII (1.49)

7. Walkie Talkie (2.08)

8. Cereal Boxes (2.32)

9. Officer Jimbo (3.31)

10. The Healing (4.03) Excellent Track

11. The Great Eatlon (4.41) Excellent Track

12. End Titles (1.43)

13. The Times They Are A-Changin': Whisper in the Noise * (5.59)

14. Every Grain Of Sand: Amanda Ghost * (4.14)

15. It Ain't Me Babe: Silvertide * (3.46)

16. Maggie's Farm: Silvertide * (3.36)

* Songs written by Bob Dylan

Total Length: 59.48

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=== Link to Composer Site: James Newton Howard ===