Although the score for Julie & Julia does clearly establish the two individual themes and character sets for the two leads, Desplat maintains a consistent tone and familiar mannerisms in all portions of the work. Most of the techniques that endear the composer to his loyal fanbase are utilized here once again, from the perpetual application of light rhythmic movement to the use of woodwinds in roles normally reserved for percussion and, most importantly, an attention to detail in creative orchestrations. The passing of melodic and rhythm-setting duties between strings, piano, and woodwinds is especially notable. A cheery attitude also carries over from other Desplat scores, though it's especially saccharine here. Specialty instrumentation begins with the aforementioned accordion, applied with taste as to not overwhelm the soundscape in ways that instrument can. For the New York setting, Desplat adds very discrete synthetic pulses (not the deep throbbing ones that ruin some of his scores, thankfully) and electric guitar that strums like its acoustic counterpart. Soft xylophone tones vary between the settings, tingling high-pitched representations of Paris translated to much lower registers for New York. Brass performances are rare, but they do accentuate the waltz-like movements of Childs' theme at times (as in "Leaving Paris"). The two themes are conveniently conveyed immediately on the album release, originally careful to stay true to their native instrumentation. As the score progresses, Desplat begins to merge phrases of the two themes and pass them between the instrumentation originally intended for the other woman. This is especially evident in the bleeding of Childs' theme into that of the contemporary blogger. The range of emotions is covered well in the transition from the solemn solo piano interlude in "My Husband Left Me" to the score's most bubbly expression of joy in "The New York Times." A humorously downbeat moment in "Julia Hates Me" is a natural conclusion to the merging of the two halves of the score before the final statement of Childs' waltz-like theme in "Last Supper" wraps things up with gusto. Desplat wrote an introduction to the song "Time After Time," heard as the unofficial cue "Blog Ends" at the start of the album's second use of that source piece. The song placements on the Julie & Julia album (primarily a download-oriented product offered on CD by Amazon.com's "on demand" service) are easy on the ears but do distract from the overall experience of the score. On the whole, this is a breeze of a soundtrack that extends beyond the usual primary appeal to Desplat collectors to reach a mainstream audience interested in a safe musical souvenir from the film that overflows with cheer.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download