Moments ago I posted the first part of my exploration into some of the categories and nominees for the 87th Academy Awards which will be held on February 22nd, 2015. The first post discussed the category of Best Original Song and that naturally leads us to the other music category (and my favorite) Best Original Score. It is the one I get most interested and invested in and the one I am notoriously horrible at predicting. Over the years I have “agreed” with the Academy only a few times but, as discussed in the initial post, I’m anticipating a change in my luck with predictions as I have begun to view and understand art and culture in a new and different way. It is quite possible, however, that my record continues down it’s embarrassing track and nothing changes at all. Regardless, film scores are one of my favorite things in the entire world (as noted in a post from way back here), so I will continue listening, appreciating and pretending to be well versed in what they are and what makes them “good.”
The nominees for Best Original Score are:
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game – Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar – Hans Zimmer
Mr. Turner – Gary Yershon
The Theory of Everything – Jóhann Jóhannsson
I should preface this by admitting to the bias with which I enter this discussion: I absolutely love Alexandre Desplat. I think he is a genius. He is my favorite film composer right now and I cannot get enough of his work. With that said, I acknowledge the overwhelming brilliance in each of the nominees in the category this year and am putting my adoration aside to fairly analyze each one. It should also be noted that I am a rookie posing as someone who knows a lot more about these things than I do and that these posts are not meant to serve as reliable critical evaluation. This is all just good fun. Anyways, back on track…
This year marks the first time that I have been intimately familiar with each of the five nominated scores and have found elements in each that I think are outstanding. It is greatly influence by the presence of two different scores by Alexandre Desplat. The Grand Budapest Hotel as a film is, in my opinion, a visual masterpiece. While watching I was astounded by the direction and cinematography, the costume and set design, and the unique atmosphere created by Wes Anderson. I had never seen such application of the principles of design – the symmetry and balance of each frame, the use of color and contrast. It is gorgeous to look at and you are swept away to this interesting and unfamiliar place. All of these elements are accentuated by the spectacularly original and delightful score. It takes an incredible talent to not only match a musical soundtrack to the visuals that are being produced in this film, but to then amplify them and make them better. The score sets a mysteriously European vibe, almost Scandinavian at times. There are elements of another wonderful Desplat score felt throughout, the quirky banjo-laden, pizzicato style of Fantastic Mr. Fox, but an entirely different atmosphere is being created. This is a fun listen from top to bottom, carrying with it the simplicity, precision and humor that allow the film to be so successful in it’s outstanding vision.
I just saw The Imitation Game this past week, after having been familiar with the score for quite some time, and since viewing it I am constantly discovering new depth in the score that Desplat has composed. My first impression was that it was yet another strong score from a master of his craft, but the more I dig into the instruments used, the sounds chosen, and the mood that is created, the more I appreciate what Desplat accomplished with this composition. Take the track “U-Boats” for instance: The percussive low piano creates a driving, aggressive background, the flutes add in a weightless quality to balance it out, then the piano takes a dissonant, repetitive turn. That driving background has morphed into the musical representation of Morse Code. While watching the film it goes unnoticed but it is a brilliant choice that adds an immense amount of tension and excitement to the scene. Throughout the score Desplat uses metallic percussion sounds in constant running motifs that seem to emulate the ever churning thoughts of Alan Touring. There is a sense of forward motion, a driving force that builds energy over and over again and leads the movie along its path. This is especially evident in the track “Crosswords” where the urgency and mystery is almost overwhelming. All of the metallic sounds consistently hinting at Enigma, at the machine that is to be built to overcome it, at all of the metal parts turning and turning, searching for the right sequence to decode and save millions of lives. This score is bloody brilliant.
Interstellar is one of those scores that isn’t something you put on while hanging out at home for great background music. It isn’t spectacular study music (as is The Theory Of Everything, which I play every single day, repeatedly) nor is it something that you’ll have stuck in your head randomly because it’s so catchy and memorable. In the past I would have overlooked this score without a second glance, finding little value in its sparseness and lack of melody, but I paid attention in a way that I hadn’t previously done with a film score and I was surprised and pleased to realize that it is actually quite wonderful and an essential aspect of the film. I find the heavy use of the organ extremely interesting. I don’t generally associate an “other worldly” atmosphere with something most commonly used in classical fugues and Sunday church services, but it works. Somehow Hans Zimmer creates a new environment, a distant, intriguing place with it. The track “Stay” exemplifies the simultaneous power and simplicity of this score. There are wispy, airy outer space-like sounds over long low drones, high sweeping strings that are etherial and gorgeous, and a massive build with a driving bottom end that leads to a weightless climax. It isn’t flashy but it is perfect. The track “Mountains” is the other standout for me, adding in the extremely effective and relevant idea of time. Zimmer uses the constant clock-like ticking to accentuate the urgency in the film and to push the momentum forward. The accelerando causes a build that increases your heartbeat, growing into the huge low end slides, simulating the mountainous waves on screen. The clock picks up from a single click on the beat midway through to a double-time, echoing tick-tock after the build. The organ kicks in and voices are used to facilitate a majestic, mysterious, overpowering sense of impending doom. It is pure atmosphere and it is ridiculously well crafted.
Out of all five nominees I have to say that Mr. Turner is by far my least favorite. I spent a lot of time cringing in my first few attempts at listening through. It, even more so than Interstellar, is a score that is not meant to stand on its own and provide a great background atmosphere for regular daily life. That is also not what any of these scores were composed for, however, and this score was meant to accompany a gorgeously shot, complex film about a British painter. There is definitely a specific mood being created here. The initially cringe-inducing portions of the composition are the high pitched winds and long string lines that, in normal life, aren’t common nor are they pleasing to the ear. In this score they find a home as the eery, off putting mood enhancers they were supposed to be. The film explores a range of darker emotions and ideas and they are emphasized by the dark, complicated arrangements by Gary Yershon. Listening to the score by itself is an interesting experience, as the first twenty one tracks are the gloomy, sliding clarinet laden, long toned pieces but a drastic turn occurs after “End Credits” when a series of eight tracks with the main title “A Running Jump” begin. It is a combination of fast moving, receptive paino motif, rhythmic percussion (bongos?), and a latin trumpet melody. The opposition to everything before it is astounding. The content in these last 8 tracks is my favorite portion of the score. It completely changed my view of everything that had come before it. In the context of the film everything makes sense, but as a score on its own, I wasn’t sold until I heard the unique and original vision that Yershon possesses. What a strange, interesting score!
The Theory of Everything. I don’t even know where to begin. I wasn’t familiar with Jóhann Jóhannsson prior to seeing this film but I am going to watch what he does very closely from here on out. I cannot stop listening to this score. It happens to be perfect background music for me while I’m reading or studying for my classes, but it also is incredibly beautiful. It has a “British” element to it, a sort of indescribable European period film-ness, but in the best way possible. It also manages to compliment what is happening in the film in terms of the space exploration and creation of the universe type of thought that is occurring. The track “Collapsing Inwards” has an outer space mystery to it. High pitched tones and a long drone build into a huge crescendo that feels like a musical representation of entering a black hole. There is a suction moment at the end that perfectly portrays not only the ideas discussed in the film, but the uniquely alienating and overwhelming experience of dealing with the disease that Stephen Hawking is shown to be going through on screen. The track “Forces of Attraction” also happens to be a super gorgeous stand-alone composition. The piano undercurrent, the twinkling guitar sounds and the flowing rise and fall of the strings…it is just such a pleasure to listen to. The entire score, top to bottom, is outstanding.
Do I dare throw out a prediction on who will be declared the winner? The Theory of Everything is, as I said, my favorite to listen to and Jóhann Jóhannsson also has the edge, coming off of the win at the Golden Globe awards, so it would be a wise choice. I was about to type that I will follow my initial impression and say TTOE, but I think that I might have to go with my gut and give it to The Imitation Game. Any of these scores could rightfully take home the award, but there is so much brilliance in Desplat’s score for TIG and it adds so much to the film that I think it will sneak in and take the prize. It’ll be exciting to see what happens!
Until then, check out my playlist of all the Best Original Score and Best Original Song nominees on Spotify: