Soundtrack review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon movie score by Alexandre Desplat

 The Twilight Sage: New Moon Soundtrack : E1 Entertainment

Composing scores to movie sequels is an uneasy task. How does a music writer remain true to the series and sate the fans' appetites while putting his own stamp of individuality into the score? Most film series’ rely on one composer and his established themes from the first film to carry a thread of familiarity through the successive series.

But there are instances, like the Twilight film saga, where the producers want to take the sonic energy in a different direction. This does not often happen as early as “Film 2,” especially in popular film franchises, but it is not uncommon. What is unusual is when a composer completely disregards the established themes from the initial film and pulls out a new canvas, making what would be a sequel into a brand new experience.

Carter Burwell’s score for 2008’s Twilight amplified the torrent of teenage emotions and social anxieties. It was actually a very simple, earthy score, which involved less orchestration and more traditional rock band instrumentation – drums, guitars, synthesizers, and ambient female vocalizations. Almost as if he were hearkening the Kevin Williamson aesthetic. The way Burwell coordinated his score, it became easily relatable to the film’s target audience.

The darker elements deftly rode a line between drama and horror, while refusing to ever plunge headlong into terror. “Humans are Predators Too” is a perfect example of this juxtaposition. Taken out of context of the film, Twilight: The Score sounded like a very dark, ambient post-rock album – something that would probably make Brian Eno proud. It was a very dense, ominous score that weighed heavily on your mind and soul as you listen to it.

However, right from the intro track to New Moon, it is immediately apparent that Alexandre Desplat is going in a different direction than Burwell, which is expected from such a renowned talent. Desplat, having a greater range of instruments at his disposal, transforms the Twilight saga into a luxurious, ballroom-styled epic – using precise instrumentation to represent characters, invoke particular emotions, and literally place you into this fantasy world. It is really his way of showing that the Twilight realm is much bigger than Bella’s and Edward’s immediate situation.

“New Moon” is a fantastic opener, because it practically carries you to this other world, while offering hints at what to expect throughout the proceeding experience. As standard fare for Desplat involves heavily-stringed emotional outpouring, New Moon is no exception. However, he injects a serpentine quality that recalls classic vampire films from previous eras. You can definitely hear echoes of Elliot Goldenthal’s Interview with the Vampire and Wojciech Kilar’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Even flavors of John Williams’ Dracula score from 1979 add inspirational texture to Desplat’s work.

He is elegant to a fault, even when building tension. Of course, elements of need, yearning, passion, and depression are all prevalent, but not in the same confinement that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button displayed. It is entirely possible that Desplat’s foreign upbringing helped add an exotic tone to New Moon. The entire score bears a gentle hand, as though working to avoid suppressing the listener’s imagination. Something else interesting that seems to leak into the compositions is a classic, “old world” Asian sensibility, which effectively adds a tribal mystique to New Moon.

His new theme for Bella prances like a delicate waltz and seeps its way into many of the tracks, pulling his broad vision closer together in a cohesive, expository musical story.

Some of the tender moments in New Moon, especially “Marry Me, Bella,” reminisce upon the minimalist hopefulness of Bill Conti’s Rocky scores, where the crux of the music involves a piano and very minor string accompaniment. “I Need You” also follows this path and draws you into the intimate confusion and frustration of Bella – it literally plucks at your heartstrings. Desplat seems to have an innate ability to take the sophistication of a piano and morph it into something earthen and organic, like ripples on a cold lake. It adds a contemplative, introspective quality to the music.

He has an graceful means of creating tension, as though he’s got one hand on his shoulder trying to keep you calm, when the situation around you is becoming more and more manic, urging you to fidget and try to get up. Similar to Howard Shore in this regard, Desplat uses string and gentle piano work to paint the setting. This effect is balanced by his ‘love and betrayal’ dynamic, which is strongly akin to the subtext David Arnold explored in Casino Royale.

“Volturi Waltz” introduces a malevolent horn segment that really lets you know that all is not well in the house of vampire-dom and builds to a seething, chilling crescendo, thereby setting the aural action into a jolting forward momentum. And as anticipated, “Blood Sample,” the next track, jumps right in with heart-pounding tension with percussion and strings battling for acknowledgement.

While Burwell centered on a dark, brooding tone, Desplat focused on emotional tribulations and high drama. “Edward Leaves” demonstrates this very eloquently, beginning a little breezy, but becoming very deeply emotional, while hinting at a darkened waltz.

His themes that amplify the violence and aggression in New Moon, like “Wolves V. Vampire,” are very Goldsmithian in the use of diverse instrumentation to not only accent, but become the action – making the various instruments spar with one another. Desplat’s inspiration from classic cinema truly come to a head during these moments, making them sound as though King Kong was doing battle in Jurassic Park – like Max Steiner going toe-to-toe with John Williams. They are quite brutal to behold.

Many fans are concerned that the grand scope of Desplat’s score deviates from the intimacy they have come to know and love in the cradle of Bella’s story. Desplat’s compositions do pull the listener out of the comfort zone established in Twilight, but it is only force an awareness that Bella’s world, while still dark and frustrating, is much larger and becoming more complex as the story unfolds.

Although The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (because of its unfathomable mass of accolades) may forever be seen as the litmus test of Desplat’s ability, he truly has raised the bar with New Moon. And with any luck, the music community will embrace his score in a similar fashion to the way they did Burwell’s Twilight, and thereby opening new minds to Desplat’s other works, like Coco avant Chanel, Cheri, The Painted Veil, Casanova, and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.

Be sure to check out the Examiner interview with Alexandre Desplat here!