No starships, no lightsabers, no gun fights and no creatures. This pretty much describes the unique status this soundtrack album held in my collection back in 1991, as the film THE MAN IN THE MOON is a straight-up family drama, with no elements of the "fantastic" present. It certainly opened me up to exploring music from this genre, whether of the current or classic variety, as there are many excellent scores to be enjoyed. What actually brought me to this specific title, however, was the 1990 movie FLATLINERS, as both feature music composed by James Newton Howard.
FLATLINERS was one of those movies recorded from cable that wound up in heavy rotation on the weekends for my sister Meri and I. Not sure whether it was the outlandish plot, grad school setting or the electric, why-didn't-they-ever-make-a-movie-together-again pairing of Keifer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon, but we soon had that film pretty well memorized, chorus and verse. Add in Julia Roberts, William Baldwin and Oliver Platt and it was like a tormented, nihilistic Brat Pack with handy defibrillator kits. I was fascinated by the depictions of the afterlife, seeing as I spent a great deal of time then ruminating about it, and the eclectic score by Howard really gripped by eardrums. The music ran the gamut from gothic chorales, to groove-based hooks, moody synths and a sonorous, orchestral closer. I loved every minute. The only disappointment was that no soundtrack album ever found its way to disc.
It looked to contain no songs, only Howard's music, but I also discerned that the subject matter was as far removed from my usual soundtrack sustenance as possible. Nevertheless, and with no info on the movie, I bought the cassette, glad to finally own at least one score from this new composer. The first track, "Dani Brings Court Water", features a small orchestra of strings and woodwinds, augmented by guitar, mandolin and dulcimer, and upon hearing it I was mesmerized. It played right on that edge between sweet and sad and the solo parts for violin and guitar were gorgeous. I realize that an 18-year old male isn't normally affected by such tender music, but you know what, I'd already wept while listening to FIELD OF DREAMS so let's just all agree I was a sensitive kid. The bittersweet quality of that opening found balance in other joyous, jangly cues for guitar, banjo and mandolin, rounding out the score nicely.
Granted, this score didn't at all resemble the rock orchestral style of FLATLINERS, but it worked for me. So much so that I insisted on renting the movie itself the next time Meri and I visited our local video shop, a process which now seems as antiquated a notion as switching out 8-track tapes. The movie stars a young Reese Witherspoon in her first onscreen role, along with Sam Waterston as her father. It's a coming of age story, directed by the same man, Robert Mulligan, who helmed the 1962 classic TO KILL A MOKINGBIRD with Gregory Peck. Set during the late 1950's in rural North Carolina, the film expertly handles the characters, the period and the changes affecting them all during one summer, especially as crushes, love and heartbreak are tackled. My sister and I were unprepared for the excellence of this film, seeing as how no one else seemed to know it existed, and we quickly ranked it among our favorites. It soon found its place among the same frequent screenings as FLATLINERS, GHOSTBUSTERS, REAL GENIUS, THE ABYSS and others.
I imagine it's been at least fifteen years since I last watched THE MAN IN THE MOON. I'm confident enough that the movie still retains its strength to recommend it, though no doubt I will always see it through nostalgia-tinted glasses. But hey, it's from the same director as TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, that's gotta be worth some credit, right? Afterwards, I continued to follow James Newton Howard's composing career, adding him to my roster of personal favorites alongside Goldsmith, Williams, Horner and Silvestri. THE FUGITIVE, THE SIXTH SENSE, SIGNS, I AM LEGEND and many more highlights emerged for Howard, thankfully all with album releases. And while there's been sentimentality to wade through in my words, I find THE MAN IN THE MOON and its music remain another great time capsule for me and my own coming of age story.
In my 18th year, I was clumsily navigating that slowly dawning world of dating, when everyone else around seemed to have a better grasp of its intricacies yet the truth was that all of us at that age proceeded in blind, deaf and dumb fashion. The "firsts" featured here - kisses, dances, loves - all resonated with me. I wanted those same enveloping encounters, the meaningfulness and importance they conveyed to life, although to teen-age eyes all things appear meaningful and important. Maybe it was an eagerness to step outside the family. Experiencing those firsts of the heart felt like borders crossed into adulthood, where acceptance and love from a girl carried more weight than receiving this same thing from parents and siblings. I never could have known how often in the ensuing years my heart was put through its paces, made to run this course again and again, but not really sure what kind of reward I actually wanted.
I imagine it's been at least fifteen years since I last watched THE MAN IN THE MOON. I'm confident enough that the movie still retains its strength to recommend it, though no doubt I will always see it through nostalgia-tinted glasses. But hey, it's from the same director as TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, that's gotta be worth some credit, right? Afterwards, I continued to follow James Newton Howard's composing career, adding him to my roster of personal favorites alongside Goldsmith, Williams, Horner and Silvestri. THE FUGITIVE, THE SIXTH SENSE, SIGNS, I AM LEGEND and many more highlights emerged for Howard, thankfully all with album releases. And while there's been sentimentality to wade through in my words, I find THE MAN IN THE MOON and its music remain another great time capsule for me and my own coming of age story.
