Jane Austen and
Rachel Portman would seem a match made in heaven, and indeed,
Portman's score for the 1996
Austen feature adaptation Emma earned the composer an Academy Award. Employing all of
Portman's signatures -- whimsical yet romantic melodies, fluffy string arrangements, and woodwind solos -- the music will be quite familiar to anyone with even a passing familiarity with her previous scores; Oscar notwithstanding, it seems as if she's simply going through the motions, content to operate within the confines of an aesthetic that, admittedly, is hers and hers alone. By no means a bad score,
Emma is nevertheless a disappointment -- if you've heard a previous
Rachel Portman score, you've pretty much heard this one as well. ~ Jason Ankeny