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Alexandre
Desplat steps into the Twilight saga
with his score for New Moon, a sequel
that has been eagerly anticipated by the legions of fans that the series has
garnered. The first movie, though a success on most levels, lacked the type
of musical score that soundtrack enthusiasts were looking for from Carter
Burwell. Now, Burwell has given way to a composer who has gained immense
commercial popularity in recent years in the form of Desplat and many
listeners were eager to hear the direction he would take this in. The score
album (there was also a song compilation release) features about an hour’s
worth of music and has been met with positive feedback thus far.
New Moon is
a step above and beyond from what we heard with Burwell’s attempt; let me
just put that out there. The main theme for this sequel is quite stunning
with its beauty and heart and is perhaps the most I have been moved by a
Desplat piece thus far. It has an almost intoxicating aura about it and
brings home a melody that this series was sorely lacking. This winning theme
is ushered out at the start of the album and gets things going in the right
direction. And then the underscore sets in.
The bulk of
New Moon is simply a wash for me. The emotion from the main theme doesn’t
translate to the rest of the experience. Instead of building off of the
beauty, Desplat lures the listener down a path in which a slow moving
underscore paces the way. Even when the music requires taking a menacing
turn, he is still too reserved with it for my tastes. His creativity is
perhaps too subtle.
I know
Desplat has turned into one of the elite composers these days, but aside
from a few moments of breathtaking beauty, New Moon
is a largely forgettable score. Better than Twilight,
no doubt, but not as captivating as it should have been.
A stellar
main theme goes wasted as the majority of Alexendre Desplat’s New
Moon score plays out too predictably and too
slowly. The thematic highlights are the only reason this soundtrack gets as
high a grade as it does.
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