The Door in the Floor (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

For his second score for a feature film, following Kissing Jessica Stein (he also collaborated with Eumir Deodato on Bossa Nova), Brazilian pianist Marcelo Zarvos takes on director Tod Williams' adaptation of the John Irving novel A Widow for One Year, retitled The Door in the Floor. Even for those unfamiliar with the novel's plot (which concerns domestic upheaval in the life of a writer of children's books during a summer spent in upscale East Hampton, Long Island), the music is suggestive of a thoughtful drama. Zarvos, who plays piano on many of the tracks, moves very slowly, creating glacial musical textures with sustained notes and chords picked up by strings that rise and fall gently like waves along the shore. All is certainly not well in East Hampton, but the troubles clearly are emotional and largely internal, and the music expresses calm sadness for much of its running time. The film may concern a family on vacation, but the music tells you that it's no day at the beach.