Isn't It Good? Yes, It Is

JONNY GREENWOOD'S soundtrack for There Will Be Blood was ridiculously denied an Oscar nomination in 2008 because of Academy rules about eligibility. Happily, the Radiohead guitarist hasn't allowed the experience to sour his appetite for movies and he's provided a score for Norwegian Wood, the forthcoming big-screen adaptation of Haruki Murakami's 1987 novel.

Music plays a pivotal role in the book's narrative as the protagonist Toru Watanabe hears an orchestral version of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) and is taken on a Proustian trip back to his days as a university student in the 1960s. This musical trigger has been excised from the film, but Greenwood's contemplative and introspective string-based score is no less important as a result. In fact, it often holds together a film that threatens to fall apart at the seams because of its slow-paced 133-minute running time and grave subject matter.

Stripped of its flashback element and lacking the novel's edgy humour, Norwegian Wood is a visually impressive failure. But Greenwood's haunting soundtrack - which also features three very welcome tracks by Can - stands as a genuinely accomplished piece of work.
The Norwegian Wood soundtrack is released on 8 March and the film will be in UK cinemas from 11 March.

FILM DIARY: What I've been watching in 2011...
Catfish (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2010) The OTHER Facebook movie. Having successfully avoided all the plot spoilers, I was gripped by Catfish's slow-reveal narrative. Yes, there are reasons to doubt the documentary's veracity, yes, the filmmakers are difficult to like and, yes again, the second half of the film struggles to match the first. But while that mystery element is in play, it's very difficult to resist. (7/10)

Zelig (Woody Allen, 1983) Rewatching this for the first time in years, the you-can't-see-the-join (you can) technical trickery no longer looks as impressive. But it's still remarkable how Allen almost manages to stretch out one joke to feature length, while the story of a human chameleon who's so profoundly anonymous he'll do anything to fit in has a surprising emotional intensity. (7/10)

The Crazies (Breck Eisner, 2010) A horror remake by the director of Sahara? Did I sin in a previous life? Amazingly, this story of good folk gone stark-staring mental isn't bad at all. Eisner reveals that he knows how to direct a good action sequence, while the fight scene in a car wash is genuinely inventive. Whisper it, but it's better than the 1973 original. (7/10)

Cockles And Mussels (Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, 2005) The worst thing about this piss-pauvre French comedy is that it's been compared to an Eric Rohmer romance. That's like comparing the Carry On films to Billy Wilder, the Chuckle Brothers to the Coen Brothers or Fernando Torres to Kenny Dalglish. Arrete! (2/10)

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Daniel Alfredson, 2009) Not a patch on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Unlike that film, there's no time to immerse yourself in the world of the characters and, faced with a barrage of plot developments and thinly-sketched stereotypes, it's ultimately hard to care. (5/10)

COLIN HOULSON

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here