Friday, January 26, 2007

Miss Potter

We have just returned from seeing Miss Potter. Some of the professional critics were not particularly enthusiastic, but I loved it. I'm a sucker for terrific scenery [especially in Great Britain] and loved the story. I thought Renee Zellweger was brilliant and completely disagree that someone else would have done a better job.

I'm intrigued that the film has 2 composers and am wondering why: did Nigel Westlake feel he needed Rachel Portman for certain styles, or did the producers think he wasn't up to it?

I love Nigel's music, including his arrangements of Saint-Saens for Babe (also directed by Christ Noonan)and his own music, used so effectively in the IMAX Antarctica film. In fact, a couple of days ago, I purchased a score of his percussion ensemble that features in the part of the film called Penguin Circus.

I haven't found a student yet who is not captivated by this short, fun piece.

Rachel Portman's music in Chocolat is perfect. I'm still wondering if Satie's Gnossienne is really in the film, or if rather Ms Portman has captured the style of that work.

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