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Written 3/30/14
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Buy it... if you can respect Alexandre Desplat's attempt to combine
classic Ron Goodwin and Malcolm Arnold patriotism with Elmer Bernstein's
comedies and various vintage John Williams techniques into one
challenging but effective combination of humor and drama.
Avoid it... if the music's forced merging of so many disparate
styles bothers your sensibilities just as much as the film's equally
wavering emotional focus, the music credited with causing some of the
film's problems in that regard.
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| Desplat |
The Monuments Men: (Alexandre Desplat) You have to
credit director, producer, and actor George Clooney for at least
attempting to resurrect the feel-good American World War II propaganda
movies that followed in great quantities after the war. The nostalgia is
omnipresent in The Monuments Men, Clooney's 2014 adaptation of an
account of mostly true events surrounding Allied efforts to save classic
European artwork from destruction by the Nazis or capture by the
Soviets. Bankrolled in part by Germans, The Monuments Men takes
the basic facts of history and stretches them almost beyond recognition
for the purposes of yielding a patriotic and funny character crusade
reminiscent of the lofty war films of the 1950's. The balance of serious
history and frivolous character humor proved to be the film's greatest
issue to be resolved, requiring extra post-production work that pushed
its opening back from 2013. Critics didn't buy the artificial merging,
though the solid cast of the production helped pull The Monuments
Men to a decent box office showing. One of the areas of the film
complicated immensely by the battle between humor and history was its
music, and Clooney once again turned to French composer Alexandre
Desplat to walk the fine line between suspenseful resonance and fanciful
patriotic humor. Intriguingly, Desplat was actually afforded a rather
significant cameo role in the film as well, with several scenes, lines
of dialogue, and emotional responses featuring his distinctive face. As
for the music, there is no doubt that Clooney sought an equally
throwback score, one rooted in the days of Ron Goodwin and Malcolm
Arnold. While some modern listeners may consider this style to be
nothing more than shallow, marching, patriotic fluff, it certainly has
its place in cinematic history and is appropriate in this context. The
issues of appropriateness begin to emerge when Desplat also calls upon
Elmer Bernstein's comedy styles of the early 1980's, which, when
combined with the Goodwin and Arnold infusion, yield something
potentially sickening in a way similar to John Williams' 1941.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Williams' wartime methods also separately
inform The Monuments Men, producing a somewhat amusing offshoot
of Michael Giacchino's original "Medal of Honor" video game music in the
process. There is some trademark Desplat to be heard in all of this as
well, but don't be surprised if you are overwhelmed by the many outside
influences on this music's direction. Critics were not always impressed
with the score demeanor, many singling it out for ridicule in reviews of
the film.
No matter how you evaluate the score for
The
Monuments Men, you can't fault Desplat for attempting a very
challenging balance of musical styles. Technically, his execution is
nearly flawless. In a fantastic recording of the London Symphony
Orchestra, he either emulates or lampoons all the composers mentioned
above with remarkable fluency, the unyielding and at times soaring,
self-important Goodwin and Arnold optimism balanced by the bouncing and
jovial rhythmic tone of Bernstein and the respectful gravity of
Williams. The Bernstein portion, as exemplified by "Basic Training," can
be the most difficult to tolerate. Others might balk at resemblances
between Desplat's main theme and Bruce Broughton's
The Rescuers Down
Under or odd connections between Desplat's noble, heroic motif
("Normandy") and Williams'
Rosewood. Regardless of such a feast
of reflections for the ears of film music collectors, Desplat did manage
to write a multitude of themes in the mold of
The Golden Compass
and nurture and develop them throughout the score. Nary a cue will pass
without at least some faint reference to the primary or secondary
sections of the boisterous "Opening Titles" theme, the first part
espousing the comedic tone while the second addressing more serious
undertones of the action on screen. A theme for the mission of the
characters is revealed in "The Roosevelt Mission" and out of this idea
comes the aforementioned motif of nobility that recalls the height of
Williams' career. A love theme heard fullest in "Claire & Granger" is
fleeting but pretty, while the villain's motif, alternately representing
the main heavy and the Nazis, militaristically carries the
"Stahl"-related cues, including the deceivingly lightweight waltz in
"Stahl's Chalet." A few other motifs recur, including one for the
targeted loot. Some of the most strikingly memorable moments in
The
Monuments Men are those that address action in the
Williams/Giacchino manner, "Finale" featuring action music not to be
missed. The more subtle Williams connections, which seem to get drowned
out with all the Goodwin and Bernstein mentions, come at moments like
"Into Bruges" and other interludes for ominous bassoons. You could look
many places in this score to find highlights and detractions, and it's
unfortunate that some listeners will point to the tuba of "John Wayne"
or whistling of "End Credits" to write off the entirety of this score.
Even if you don't find yourself in a position to enjoy this score for
its affable retro styling alone, then at least you should be able to
derive some pleasure from deconstructing it intellectually. This was
really a no-win situation for Desplat, and between his music and his
acting role, he did as well with
The Monuments Men as anyone
could have expected.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check:
For Alexandre Desplat reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.41
(in 32 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.22
(in 16,610 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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