Comments on: Soundtrack Review: Atonement by Dario Marianelli (2007)

By: Score Previews » Atonement by Dario Marianelli (2007)

Score Previews » Atonement by Dario Marianelli (2007) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:58:00 +0000

[...] Atonement Film Score Review [...]

By: Soundtrack Geek

Soundtrack Geek — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:53:44 +0000

It’s all about opinions. Either you like it or you don’t. The typewriter works well in the movie, but I wouldn’t have cried if it wasn’t there either. Neither the movie or score felt very romantic to me, but again it’s all about taste. I think that whether we like the movie or not has a lot of bearing when it comes to the score, but there are always exceptions. For a top romantic score, listen to Aaron Zigman’s The Notebook. Truly great, but not as great as the movie itself.

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:42:32 +0000

The typewriter is too dramatic? Oh boy…that’s a whopper of a claim. First off, on film it’s essential to the pacing of a lot of scenes, really establishing a tempo and musical presence. Second, and this is obviously a divergence of musical tastes here, I think it’s a superb percussive musical device, really giving a unique flavor and matching the racing strings in a few scenes. It’s never overbearing…it certainly reaches louder crescendos in “Briony” and “Come Back”, but it never becomes grating.
As for the rest of the score, it’s one of the most heartbreakingly romantic scores ever produced. Tracks 1-7 are not fillers to me…they break out superb thematic development and really set the tone for things to come. Note the development of Briony’s theme, which starts out with lots of whimsy in “Briony” and by “Farewell” has become dark and menacing. The string work here is superb, both racing and pulling, but mostly lower and dark. Though it leads us down a sad road, it’s still beautiful stuff.
You are right that the second half is where this material soars. The two key pieces you mentioned are the obvious highlights. The Half Killed show us a side of Marianelli we didn’t think we’d see hear: dark brassed-up action. But Elegy for Dunkirk outshines it, whipping out the agonizing theme for loss into a slow build, and once the choir enters, well…you’re just at a loss. And yet so many reviews and people have left out the grand finale, “Atonement”, which throws out Briony’s theme in a new fashion, one that seems somber and slower to reflect the end of the journey of our protagonist, and then really tugs at the heart with the theme of loss getting the whole power of the strings behind it. It’s a stunning work, the kind of film score that elevates the images in front of it, and the kind that sticks with you after the first listen. 5/5

By: Soundtrack Geek

Soundtrack Geek — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:34:06 +0000

yep, love it or hate it, that typewriter sound is certainly original.

By: fadedsilverscreen

fadedsilverscreen — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:47:13 +0000

Yeah, this was definitely one of the most innovative movie scores of 2007. The typewriter sound tied in nicely to the plot, acting as a unifying motif throughout the film.

By: Soundtrack Geek

Soundtrack Geek — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:16:05 +0000

You’re right about that. Without the score, it wouldn’t be the same. It just goes to show how important music really is in a movie.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:57:08 +0000

Interestingly, I knew from the trailer that this was going to be an amazing score. Hearing it again is really haunting. It wouldn't have been the same movie without it. Not even close. Daniel's last blog post..Are We There Yet?