Leslie Paige

Richard Gere is the aging romantic in love with the youthful Winona Ryder, except that while Gere is approaching the "autumn" of his life, Ryder's already there, suffering from a terminal disease. The heady situation has its grim moments, but the bittersweet mix of despair and euphoria is what much great art has always wrestled with. Here, it is presented sentimentally. The title track, arguably best performed by Lady Day, Billie Holiday, herself no stranger to life's troubles, is given a suitably smoky run-through by Yvonne Washington. Jennifer Page contributes "Beautiful," a lush pop ballad. But most of the soundtrack is handed over to the very capable Gabriel Yared, an Oscar Winner for his soundtrack to The English Patient. The Lebanese-born Yared draws on his own 25-plus years of scoring films to brilliantly build the drama to cathartic heights without sacrificing the quiet moments that match this romance with the season's explosion of color.