|
Love Happens
(2009) is a romantic drama written and directed by Brandon Camp and starring
Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston. Upon its September 2009 release in
theaters a soundtrack CD was edited with songs from various artists, and
excerpts from the original score by Christopher Young. Now, with the film's
arrival on DVD and Blu-ray, the La-La Land label released an album
exclusively for Young's score, complete with several bonus tracks that were
not used in the film.
Christopher Young is a name most often
associated with horror and science fiction features, for which he composed
excellent orchestral scores such as Hellraiser I and II,
Species, The Grudge and the recent Drag me to Hell. But in
his long filmography we can find scores for various genres, as in the case
of Love Happens. Even enjoying a good deal of the composer's work, I
often resent the lack of a personal mark, a Young's strong musical signature,
as in much of his work he clearly drew inspiration from his colleagues'
style.
I would say the same thing happened here -
while in the courtroom drama
The Runaway Jury
Young often sounds like
James Newton Howard, in Love Actually we clearly hear echoes from
Dave Grusin's scores composed for films of similar theme. With a solid
orchestration, the music of Young has the pop-jazz flavor reminiscent from
Grusin, an effect enhanced by the piano that plays throughout the album the
film's main theme. Reflecting the film's structure, the score's first
portion has a softer and lively tone, as the track "It's MMM ... Good," but
it gradually brings to the listener music of strong emotional content.
Even the more atmospheric and suspenseful
approach that Young uses in his horror scores has emerged, as one can hear
in "Mind Noise", a track that would not do badly in a darker movie. Among
the bonus tracks, the lively and pulsating "Why the Hell Am I in Heaven?"
and the emotive "Not Really Postlude" stand out. It is a shame that both
have not stayed in the final cut, since in a way those tracks perfectly
capture the essence of this soundtrack.
While it may be regarded by many as muzak"
or "elevator music," Love Happens is a score where the composer has
expressed very well to the listener the atmosphere and emotions suggested in
the film, even apart from the images. Also, it is a work that can be
regarded as a great example of Christopher Young's versatility - a
true musical chameleon, which often pays the price for this versatility with
the lack of a clearly evident trademark, but who always delivers quality
material. |
