Lady in the Water

Composed By: James Newton Howard

• 1. Prologue (2:52) • 2. The Party (6:40) • 3. Charades (5:50) • 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 (2:33) • 9. Officer Jimbo (3:31) • 10. The Healing (4:03) • 11. The Great Eatlon (4:41) • 12. End Titles (1:43)

     This is one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard, even to my relatively untrained ear.  The theme for The Blue World introduced on the strings near the beginning of "Prologue" is simple, yet surprisingly effective.  It is heard many times throughout the score, giving the score a tight-knit feel.  It's incredibly beautiful and instantly recognizable after one listen through.

     There are a few fantastic secondary themes including the theme for evil introduced in "Prologue" after the piano performance.  It's performance in "The Great Eatlon" is especially menacing.  A theme is introduced for the flute in "Charades" and continued in "Officer Jimbo".  It's not quite as memorable as other themes, but it is certainly pretty.  The closest we get to a love theme is introduced in "Ripples in the Pool".  It's performance in "End Titles" is especially beautiful, and is one of the highlights of the album for me.

     My favorite track is "The Great Eatlon".  The conflict in the track is set forth right from the beginning with menacing dissonance.  The horns and muted trumpets highlight the evil that is lurking, trying to prevent our heroine from going home.  The theme for evil has a stirring performance on the horns, followed by rising action culminating in teases of the Blue World Theme which are eventually cut off.  Following another intense buildup and another brief reprise of the theme of evil, the cue finally has a magical performance of the Blue World Theme in its entirety.  The song finishes out with hauntingly beautiful choral work.  It's an enchanting ride from start to finish.

     Lady in the Water is a masterpiece.  Though its theme didn't grab my attention right at the beginning, by the end I was hooked.  It has subtle motifs which, along with the plentiful themes, help pull the score together into one cohesive whole with an immensely satisfying conclusion.

Score: 
Written for Movie: Enhancing
On Album: 10/10 "Phenomenal"

Words to describe it:   Flowing, Enchanting, and Hopeful