The Spitfire Grill review

The Spitfire Grill (1996)

Composer: James Horner

Total time: 50:12

Number of tracks: 14

Overview:

By 1996 James Horner was nearing the end of his amazing run of film scores which roughly started in 1981 and pretty well ended in 1996 with this score. Within that 15 year span, Horner composed what were arguably his best works including Wolfen (1981), Star Trek II (1982), An American Tail I-II (1986-1991), Aliens (1986), Willow (1988), Land Before Time (1988), Glory (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), The Man Without a Face (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), Apollo 13 (1995) and Braveheart (1995).

Compared to these previous films, The Spitfire Grill is a rather small scale affair dealing with a young woman who moves to a small New England town after being released from prison. Along the way, she helps the townsfolk rediscover themselves, as well as saving the local diner (The Spitfire Grill). It's a very Hallmark-esque film with plenty of drama and sappy moments, but the actors play their parts well and the film is put together in a way that saves Spitfire Grill from simply being yet another tear jerker to skip on.

Another great asset to the film is the wonderful, small scale drama score by James Horner. While most of the music is recycled from previous Horner ventures, what is reused is so good that you don't mind that fact, similar to Horner's later work on Bicentennial Man (1999).

Review of the Music:

As with most of his work in the 90's, a great deal of the themes heard in The Spitfire Grill come from previous Horner scores, namely Field of Dreams, Legends of the Fall and Jumanji. The Main theme is a variation on the 4-note ascending/descending string and woodwind piece heard in Jumanji and Legends of the Fall, but developed in a much more satisfying fashion (heard best during the opening of "... Care of the Spitfire Grill"). The descending 3-note "Family theme" from Field of Dreams also makes an appearance as a principle supporting motif.

This is not to say that there are no new elements to Spitfire Grill; there are actually two very interesting and important new elements that Horner introduces with this work. First is the fluttering woodwinds, chimes, piano and lite percussion to represent the forests at the heart of the film ("Mystery of the Night", "The Trees", "Gift from the Forest"). This style of representing the magical qualities of nature would later be used by Horner in The New World (2005), but to a less impressive extent. Secondly is the use of contemporary instruments to give a local flavor to certain cues. Violin, acoustic guitar, mandolin, flute and electronic bass help to give a very modern, yet country feel to tracks such as "Shelby & Percy", "Open for Business", "Reading the Letters" and "A New Life for Gilead". Horner had previously used contemporary elements in some of his scores, but never to the extent or emotional impact as in this score.

Interestingly enough, the title theme does not appear until rather late on the album. "Reading the Letters" is the first time we hear the theme for the Spitfire Grill, which also could be said to be the Main theme. This theme is a very low key, almost folksy sounding piece (especially when played on solo fiddle/viola) and is easily one of Horner's best standalone themes. The Spitfire Grill theme is given multiple renditions during the finale ("... Care of the Spitfire Grill") including a very moving version by the full orchestra.

For the most part the score stays in a very comfortable lite drama area, though two tracks near the end, "Wrongful Blame" and "A Desperate Decision", add a bit of dark string writing and action material to the score. Of interesting note is that the action motif heard on horns in "A Desperate Decision" would later be used as a central theme in Ron Howard's "The Missing" (2003). Besides those two cues, the rest of the album is a very pleasant and enjoyable listening experience.

Closing thoughts:

There's really nothing bad to say about The Spitfire Grill as it's easily one of Horner's best scores and an excellent album. While it may not be his most original work or his most sweeping score, Spitfire Grill has plenty of heart and a very sincere personality. Also, it's a great respite from the usual grand scale epics that Horner composed at the time.

Also, if you loved the quieter moments of Jumanji and want to hear that music expanded upon and uninterrupted by dissonant passages or action material, then The Spitfire Grill is for you. With the excellent use of the orchestra and solo instruments plus expanding upon previous (great) themes and motifs, this is definitely a Horner score that I can not recommend highly enough.

Score:

5 out of 5