Filmtracks reviews the score to Shadowlands: Among Richard Attenborough’s narrative triumphs was 1994’s Shadowlands, a glimpse into the later years of admired British scholar and author C. S. Lewis. In his career of biographical storytelling, Attenborough would experience the full range of success, from the heights of Gandhi to the failures of Chaplin, and while Shadowlands is not anywhere near as well known as many of his other pictures, Attenborough’s telling of the friendship and love between Lewis and American poet Joy Gresham is widely regarded as a nearly flawless film.
The overall impression that Shadowlands will leave you with is one of restrained beauty and elegance. No part of the score overwhelms you like some of Fenton’s larger, later efforts. He develops one primary theme of romance in the two “The Golden Valley” tracks, though since the relationship between the poet and author does not include sparks, the theme quietly meanders with the ease of a typical John Barry venture. Performances of this theme are typically restrained to strings and woodwinds, with the only robust statements placed near the end.