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Review of The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Alexandre Desplat)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you have always appreciated the intellectual qualities
of Alexandre Desplat's feature film scores but have sought for him to
produce a more convincing sense of romantic warmth.
Avoid it... if you, like most fans of Twilight, supported the contemporary music of the first film and are horrified by the total abandonment of that score's unconventional tone by Desplat in his effort to completely (and probably unnecessarily) reinvent the franchise's sound.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: (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 The Twilight Saga: New Moon
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 Twilight 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 The Twilight Saga:
New Moon came a new production team, however, and along with
director Chris Weitz arrived his collaborator on The Golden
Compass, 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.
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 72:11
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert unfolds into a poster and contains a note from the director and
extensive credits on the reverse side.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Twilight Saga: New Moon are Copyright © 2009, Summit Entertainment and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/27/09 (and not updated significantly since). |
