James Newton Howard “The Lady In The Water”
Album Reviews | Feb 2nd, 2007
Record Label: Universal/Decca
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“The Lady In The Water” is the 7th feature film from M. Night Shyamalan, and
James Newton Howard is back to lend a hand with the score as well. The score music fits in great with the typical M. Night movie formula. Suspenseful, emotional, and stirring heroics that sweep the listener/viewer into the film. While most of the themes in the movie resemble some of James Newton Howard’s previous work, I really thought the score to “Lady” stood out from the rest. My favorite theme is for “Story” the main character that is, The Lady in The Water. Story is from The Blue World and you can hear her theme throughout the movie, which resembles peace, hope, and a better tomorrow, which is her message throughout the film. I found that her theme was the best part of the music because it really grabs your attention and focuses the viewer while watching the film. After hearing the score so much prior to the film, and then seeing it, I even got a little choked up for some parts. Oh shut up!
Other aspects of the score resemble mystery, danger, intensity, while not my favorite parts of the movie, they need to be part of a M. Night movie. I think James Newton Howard gets better and better with each score he does as well for all the M.Night Shyamalan movies. Each score; The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village and now The Lady in the Water give the listener a very Alfred Hitchock sense of feeling throughout the movies, which can make the viewing even more intense. I also loved Howard’s work with the piano in the score, which for the most part, were used for Story’s themes. I remember I kept saying to my girlfriend how much I loved the score during the movie, and the film was great too.
Bottom Line: An excellent score from James Newton Howard shows off the great working relationship between M. Night and himself. Moving and suspenseful themes make it a fun listen. Just not when you are sleeping.
Notable Tracks: Prologue, End Titles, The Great Eatlon, Charades, The Healing
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