I just returned from an advanced screening of Universal’s Cinderella Man, scored by the talented Thomas Newman. My wife is an Internet publicist who gets invited to such events, so I will leave the overall movie review to her. As for me, I’d like to throw in my brief analysis of the filmscore.

Overall, the score was effective. As the protagonist of the story is Irish, I like the way that Newman brought in Irish motifs – sometimes subtle – like manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) whistling “Danny Boy” – to a full-on Chieftains-like jig.

At one point early on in the film, the score seemed a bit too prominent; with loud contrabasses coming in over the visuals. It sounded to me like they may have been mixed in with some electric guitar, or perhaps other signal processing that beefed them up a bit. Those same contrabasses (though usually not so forceful) play a recurring role in the score.

There are two scenes where the music works perfectly in the textbook definition of a filmscore: enhancing the emotional impact of the film. So as not to give away the story, I’ll try to describe the scenes in somewhat abstract terms. The first scene is when Braddock (Russell Crowe) is saying goodbye to his family before getting into a car. You’ll know the scene when you see it. The other scene that struck me as a perfect blend of music and visuals is a moment that Braddock and wife Mae enjoy before an important fight. Again – you’ll know when you see and hear it.

Thomas Newman has done fine work in number of well-known pictures. This film, too, demonstrates his talent.