Marilyn Monroe was the leading sex symbol in films of the fifties. Along with James Dean
she managed to speak to an entire generation. That legacy continues to this day.
But there were two sides of the Marilyn coin -
the glamour and fame of stardom was tempered by depression and torment, abuse and despair.
Norma Jean became Marilyn, abused by others as an adolescent - abused by herself as an
adult.
NORMA JEAN AND MARILYN allows both stages of
her life to interact - the Norma Jean of childhood mingling with the Marilyn Monroe of
adulthood.
Christopher Young viewed the film as
challenging to score. The mood needed to be appropriate for the setting of a young starlet
sliding into fame in Hollywood of the fifties. But the music had to reflect unusually grim
pictures behind the facade. The primary thematic material, featuring solos for soprano
saxophone and trumpet, renders a haunting and smokey line over warm string harmonies. To
reflect the two personalities interacting Young invented a motif that included a
simultaneously ascending and descending figure, usually heard in piano, harp and vibes.
The resulting score is both melodic and warm in
its simplicity, reflective and slightly dissonant in its darker meanings.
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