: (Alexandre Desplat)
From the ever-expanding realm of wayward Goths to the masses of longing
teenage girls in America comes a reliable source of income for Stephanie
Meyer's brainless, juvenile "Twilight" stories and the inevitable studio
investments in adapting them to the screen. It doesn't matter how
thoroughly the films in this franchise are thrashed by critics, this
devoted audience will ensure a solid fiscal return. For those who have
outgrown the teenage romance and vampire/werewolf blend of sappy
schlock, the worst you have to tolerate is seeing its glowering young
actors looking as pained or menacing as possible on your Burger King
packaging. At least gay men can appreciate the fact that the two hunks
anchoring the love triangle in 2009's
dispense with their shirts for much of the picture. That triangle is the
focus of this sequel, adhering to the predictably stupid logic of
teenage romance while adding the twist that the two men interested in
the everyday high school girl in this part of the tale happen to be a
vampire and a werewolf. Don't ask for any logical explanations of why a
girl would have such incredibly bad luck or poor taste in her boy
interests, especially considering that the winner of two guys is a
creepy looking undead man who is almost a century older than her.
Imagine where you could take this scenario if you combined it with all
those limp-dick pill ads involving pairs of bathtubs in extremely
awkward places. One thing about such franchises is the forgiving nature
of their fanbases, and while most film music collectors disregarded the
original
score by Carter Burwell as an underachievement,
they had to accept the reality that the fans actually connected with it.
Burwell poured quite a bit of emotional effort into that assignment,
allocating to it a meandering love theme that had long before served as
the equivalent for him and his wife. Also popular with the young women
attached to the concept was Burwell's unconventional blend of symphonic
elements (while small) and rock-inspired electronics meant to address
the hip and cool aspect of the film's appeal. With
came a new production team, however, and along with
director Chris Weitz arrived his collaborator on
, Alexandre Desplat. The director trusted the French composer
to emphasize the moody romantic concentration of the film, and with his
usual precision, Desplat partially succeeds.
In one of the most fascinating switches within a
franchise in years, Desplat's music for
The Twilight Saga: New
Moon reverses the equation of Burwell's previous score. The
intellectually deeper, mostly orchestral score by Desplat is sure to
attract significant attention from traditional film music enthusiasts
(including the composer's own growing following among an older crowd).
On the other hand, many franchise devotees immediately condemned this
score for lacking the rough, modern edge that Burwell had established,
not to mention the fact that Desplat completely disregarded Burwell's
thematic constructs. Thus, there are two equally important but
completely different ways of looking at the soundtrack for
The
Twilight Saga: New Moon. On one hand, Desplat put far more
intellectual thought into the concept that it deserved, yielding a much
more palatable score than Burwell. On the other hand, he failed to
satisfy any of the expectations of the concept's viewership. From the
perspective of someone who thinks that the entire
Twilight
phenomenon is asinine, you have to prefer the direction taken by
Desplat. But unfortunately what matters here is the collective opinion
of the hoards of fangirls who lined up for days to view this picture in
the theatre. No other intended audience existed for the entire
production, and judging by the parameters of what appeals to these young
women, Desplat's music is inappropriate. As irritating as Burwell's
score was in its majority, that was the kind of music the franchise
needed and deserved. Desplat was certainly capable of retaining the
romantically classical touch that he and Weitz obviously agreed upon for
The Twilight Saga: New Moon while also infusing some contemporary
tones for either the action or more melodramatic brooding scenes (some
of his instrumentation from
Largo Winch would have been of help
here). Ultimately, by emphasizing the classical nature of the vampire
and werewolf mythos, Desplat's ensemble was predictable. For many
listeners, it will sound like an extension of
The Golden Compass,
even down to the accentuated supporting roles for harp, triangle,
xylophone, flutes, piano, and pulsating electronic bass rhythms.
Fortunately, Desplat doesn't overplay these elements; each defines his
style well and creates the mysterious atmosphere of the story's
uncertain characters, with the possible exception of the synthetic bass
pulsations. Compared to string bass plucking that can better enunciate
the emotional intent of a cue, Desplat's rambling thumping sound
continues to be a detriment.
Perhaps the most notable aspect in which Desplat's
music fails to nail the concept's tone is in the action sequences. There
are shades of
The Golden Compass to be heard in
The Twilight
Saga: New Moon, but these accelerated rhythms and jabbing brass
figures never coalesce into any statement as truly convincing or
satisfying as those that overwhelmed in the memorable 2007 score. These
are likely the portions of the score that will most offend franchise
fans. On the other hand, the Desplat does beautifully convey a sense of
whimsy and dread at once in his remarkable love theme that resides at
the center of
The Twilight Saga: New Moon. With surprisingly
basic progressions and an abundance of dramatic harmony also of the most
simplistic kind, this love theme for Bella and Edward is among the
composer's most accessible themes. Its elementary shifts and lengthy
string performances give it a sense of warmth (though slightly creepy,
as necessary) often missing in Desplat's more technically accomplished
compositions. It is presented brilliantly in the "New Moon," using a
format of acceleration and addition of instruments (along with interlude
pacing) in each statement that reminds of John Williams' concert
arrangements. This cue is perhaps Desplat's single most engaging career
piece thus far. It is joined by equally pretty though not quite as
glowing renditions of the same love theme in "Edward Leaves" and "Full
Moon," with added sense of wonder in its variations in "You're Alive"
and "Marry Me, Bella." Together, you could form fifteen minutes of
undeniably superior performances of this theme from the score-only
product for
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, making it a solid
recommendation. The most prominent secondary motif in the score is a
waltz for the Volturi (the vampire establishment), plainly introduced in
"Volturi Waltz" and twisted into frightening forms in "To Volterra" and
"The Volturi." This idea, along with the lengthy sequences of quiet
brooding in the score, always leaves you wanting the next full
performance of the love theme; the album runs a bit too long in these
regards. To squeeze more money out of Desplat collectors, the label
placed a unique, four-minute piano rendition of the love theme on only
the song compilation album, a major disappointment. The score album has
a few artifacts in its presentation, including an obnoxious click at
3:07 into the first track. Of Desplat's remarkable eight feature scores
produced in 2009, though,
The Twilight Saga: New Moon is among
the most impressive despite its refusal to adhere to the desires of the
concept's fanbase and only partial success in redefining the franchise's
musical style.
@Amazon.com: CD or
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- Music as Written for the Film: ***
- Music as Heard on Album: ****
- Overall: ****
| Bias Check: |
For Alexandre Desplat reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.39
(in 31 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.22
(in 16,383 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
