MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

Young Woman and the Sea is a biographical period sports drama directed by Joachim Rønning and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the 2009 book of the same name by Glenn Stout. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for Disney, the film stars Daisy Ridley and tells the true story of Gertrude Ederle, an American competitive swimmer who, after winning a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, attempted to become the first woman to swim across the English Channel. The film stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Christopher Eccleston, and Glenn Fleshler in supporting roles, and has been received well by critics, many of whom favorably compared Ridley’s performance with the Oscar-nominated performance by Annette Bening in the similarly-themed Nyad last year.

The score for Young Woman and the Sea is by English composer, singer-songwriter, and former actress Amelia Warner, and is yet another impressive entry into her increasingly accomplished musical filmography. This is just her fifth feature score – the others being Mum’s List in 2016, Mary Shelley in 2017, Wild Mountain Thyme in 2020, and Mr. Malcolm’s List in 2022 – and with each successive score she has shown significant musical growth, becoming more confident with the orchestra, adding new styles and approaches to her arsenal, and writing music which is dramatic, emotional, and thematically strong. Young Woman and the Sea is another score like that.

Interestingly – possibly as a result of Jerry Bruckheimer’s involvement as a producer – the score has an unexpected 1990s throwback vibe. It’s an inspirational sports score in the same vein as several classics in that genre; I’m hesitant to compare it to things like Jerry Goldsmith’s Rudy, because that would be taking things a little too far, but I was reminded very much of a couple of scores by Mark Isham, maybe John Debney’s Dreamer, William Ross’s Tin Cup, and especially the more rousing parts of Rachel Portman’s The Legend of Bagger Vance, especially in the finale. You get the idea.

Most of the score adheres to the conventions of the film’s 1920s setting and is built solidly around a traditional orchestral ensemble, but unexpectedly – and, again, possibly due to the Jerry Bruckheimer effect – the score is at times also rather contemporary-sounding, with Warner bolstering her traditional orchestra with plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle electronic sweetening. There’s also some pleasant new age, Enya-esque music that appears from time to time, seemingly as a musical representation of the mystical and evocative allure of the ocean, which is very enjoyable indeed. It’s also notable that the score was co-produced by composer Lorne Balfe, who has a long history of working on Bruckheimer-produced features dating all the way back to Pirates of the Caribbean, and who may have guided Warner towards the tone of scores that Bruckheimer likes.

The score is anchored around two main themes, one for Gertrude herself which is very prominent throughout the entire score, and a complementary one representing Gertrude’s family. In the album’s press notes Warner says she “wanted to create a score that could stand alongside some of the incredible scores Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer have brought into the world. Something bold and powerful that reflected Trudy’s remarkable achievements. The score is full of melody and themes and was a joy to write, the sports theme feels propulsive and exciting, and her family theme brings an emotional anchor to her story.”

Numerous cues stand out. The opening cue “Sisters” provides an excellent introduction to both main themes, which are performed in sequence by the full orchestra, with notable passages for stirring brass and angelic choral accents. Later cues offer reprises of the themes in snippets here and there, in the sentimental “My Hero Was You,” and the aspirational “The Channel Plan,” as well as embedded into the fabric of the action music, but more on that later.

“Trudy Survives” is the first of several cues that focus on gorgeous writing for cello, and are more deeply emotional, speaking to the struggles Gertrude overcomes to attain her dreams. Warner uses the cellos in interesting ways, often alternating between acoustic performances by Ashok Klouda and electric cello performances by Peter Gregson, with both soloists offering different textures that complement each other well. Later cues like “Wolfe’s Sabotage” and “Family Arrives” also highlight the cellos to excellent effect. Meanwhile, the piano solos by Tom Poster add a layer of tenderness and pathos to cues like “Reaction to Failure,” while the aforementioned new age/Enya-esque music is prominent in cues like “Free Spirit” and “Trudy Escapes”.

However, in addition to all these lovely themes and emotional moments, the thing really worth mentioning is the action music, which represents the first time that Warner has really been asked to write in this style. Some of the action music reminds me of the excellent scores Pinar Toprak wrote for the yachting documentaries The Wind Gods and Tides of Fate, in that it has a similar sense of adventurousness and openness, but then there is also a distinctly Hans Zimmer vibe in the way that Warner uses electronic percussion textures and even some electric guitars, which reminds me of old Zimmer sports scores like Days of Thunder, as well as new Zimmer sports scores like Rush.

Cues like “First Race,” the intense “Sisters Race the Australians,” the stirring “Winning Montage,” “1924 Olympic Races,” “Swim to Penners,” the boldly dramatic “First Attempt,” the rousing, anthemic “We Go to England or Die Trying,” and the hopeful “Swim Trudy Swim” are impressive action highlights filled with pulsating string figures, heroic brass, electronic percussion, and occasional choral accents, and many of them feature one or both of the two main themes in upbeat, celebratory mode.

Later cues like “Jellyfish” and “Entering the Shallows” employ some suspenseful elements that occasionally come close to aggressive horror scoring, with the groaning cello textures and eerie, lonely strings emphasizing the dangers both physical and natural Gertrude faces while exposed to the elements out in the open water.

However, things really move into a new gear during the 12-minute finale comprising “Lost in the Shallows,” “Distant Lights,” “Beach Celebration” and “Triumphant Return”. It is here that Warner throws off any pretenses of restraint or subtlety and embraces every sports movie film score cliché in the book – and it’s just superb. It begins with some despondent writing for piano and strings in “Lost in the Shallows,” lamenting for Gertrude’s potential failure, but then it slowly becomes more triumphant as she sees the lights of the coast, swims for shore, and eventually makes history. The strings soar, the brass harmonies provide warmth, the chorus resounds, and the themes appear in their most emotionally satisfying settings. Then, in the final cue “Gertrude Ederle’s Legacy,” Warner offers a lovely piano rendition of the score’s two main themes, blended together, to end the score on an appropriately thoughtful note. It’s just outstanding.

Young Woman and the Sea might be the score that sees Amelia Warner make the breakthrough from the independent arthouse scene and into the film music mainstream. As good as Mary Shelley, Wild Mountain Thyme, and Mr. Malcolm’s List were, they were all very much within a particular comfort zone. Young Woman and the Sea, however, showcases Warner’s music in a new and exciting way; the melodic ideas and the traditional orchestral sounds from her earlier work are still in evidence, but the way she has also embraced the film’s action and suspense requirements, and the bolder and more heroic emotional needs, is very impressive. In my review of Mr. Malcolm’s List I suggested that Warner is becoming the heir apparent to Rachel Portman; with this score, I get the sense that she may have just ascended to the throne.

Buy the Young Woman and the Sea soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store

Track Listing:

• Sisters (2:19)
• Trudy Survives (2:44)
• First Race (2:23)
• Free Spirit (1:35)
• Sisters Race the Australians (3:42)
• Winning Montage (1:15)
• 1924 Olympic Races (1:11)
• My Hero Was You (1:18)
• The Channel Plan (2:35)
• Swim to Penners (2:31)
• Travel to the Channel (0:54)
• First Attempt (1:51)
• Wolfe’s Sabotage (2:20)
• Reaction to Failure (1:42)
• Family Arrives (1:02)
• Trudy Escapes (2:05)
• We Go to England or Die Trying (1:49)
• Jellyfish (3:01)
• Swim Trudy Swim (1:48)
• Entering the Shallows (3:31)
• Lost in the Shallows (4:35)
• Distant Lights (1:57)
• Beach Celebration (3:40)
• Triumphant Return (2:19)
• Gertrude Ederle’s Legacy (1:33)

Walt Disney Records (2024)

Running Time: 55 minutes 40 seconds

Music composed by Amelia Warner. Conducted by Robert Ziegler. Orchestrations by Anthony Weeden, Sam Jones, Jonathan Weeden, Stuart Macrae and Jon Sims. Recorded and mixed by Nick Taylor. Edited by Timeri Duplat and Al Green. Album produced by Amelia Warner, Sam Thompson, and Lorne Balfe.