Soundtrack Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
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This is a review of the motion picture score The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Alexandre Desplat.
“All in all, it’s a worthwhile effort of Alexandre Desplat, but I wouldn’t put it near the top of 2008 scores as many have done so far”
We already know that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button might be the big winner at this year’s academy awards with numerous nominations, including one for best score. It was nominated for Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award and is also shortlisted for BAFTA and has 2 nominations at the International Film Music Critics Awards. So in other words, we are talking about one of the best film scores of 2008 according to film music critics. Alexandre Desplat is himself nominated for composer of the year at IFMCA and like 2007 has had a great year. It seems like every time you want to be nominated for an award, Alexandre Desplat is an excellent choice. With the curious movie about Benjamin Button that grows younger, Desplat goes with his usual quiet style which is very emotional but has the danger of feeling flat. By the way, the release consists of 2 cd’s, 1 with the score by Alexandre Desplat and 1 with songs. I will review the film score.
Track List
- Postcards (****)
- Mr. Gateau (****)
- Meeting Daisy (***)
- A New Life (****)
- Love In Mourmansk (****)
- Meeting Again (****)
- Mr. Button (***)
- Little Man Oti (***)
- Alone At Night (****)
- It Was Nice To Have Met You (****)
- Children Games (****)
- Submarine Attack (***)
- The Hummingbird (***)
- Love Returns (***)
- Sunrise On Pontchartrain (****)
- Daisy’s Ballet Career (****)
- The Accident (****)
- Stay Out Of My Life (***)
- Nothing Lasts (***)
- Some Things You Never Forget (***)
- Growing Younger (****)
- Dying Away (***)
- Benjamin And Daisy (****)
Strong Effort
Alexandre Desplat is a curious case himself as this score shows. His strength is to convey the emotions and feelings into his music, but his critics would say that it is rather dull and flat. Already in the first cue ‘Postcards‘ we get a taste of what this score and movie is all about. It’s a mystery, it’s emotional and slightly dramatic. It’s also where we get to hear the main theme of the movie which is definitely not over the top, but rather subtle and non-intrusive. Desplat is someone who rarely use any electronic sounds, but in the cue ‘Mr. Gateau’ he uses a small synth as background sound to an even more magical cue. I like the use of an almost random use of synth from 1:26 and it’s this kind of experimentation which would put this score firmly in the non-believers good grace. There is another theme introduced in the cue ‘Meeting Daisy‘, which is mostly jazzy and a little sad. The cue itself is not a very strong one however.
The score has a lot of strong cues but also a lot of average ones. ‘A New Life’ and ‘Love in Mourmansk’ are two nice cues which uses the themes quite nicely. Late in ‘A New Life’ there is a rather dramatic turn of events and breaks a little from the standards which Mr. Desplat has set, but just for a short while. Love themes are usually some of the best around on any soundtrack and even here it’s quite good. It brings us back to a more classical era, not of Beethoven’s but of Herrmann’s and Mancini’s. Around 2:16 we can hear what is a small theme on it’s own. It’s not very common to have three themes in one movie, but maybe for a movie of this scale it is necessary.
Dull But Ends Well
There are a few cues which are rather peculiar and not particularly well crafted like ‘Mr. Button’ which has a dramatic flair, but feels strangely dull. The same goes for ‘Little Man Oti’ which is more original, but it’s rough edges needs to be smoothed out a little. It tries to be very clever, but it’s quite transparent and lifeless in the end. ‘Submarine Attack’ is another cue which doesn’t quite hit the mark. I am not surprised though as Alexandre Desplat is not usually an action composer although the jury is still out on that one after the exciting Largo Winch. ‘The Hummingbird’ is flat and boring while ‘Love Returns’ is a repeat of the love theme, but feels like it has sounded better before, which it has.
Luckily there are quite a number of strong cues to make up for the slack like ‘Alone at Night’ which is one of the best cues of this soundtrack. It is the most emotional and beautiful of all the cues and has a sense of magic. ‘It was nice to have met you’ is another winner in my book, a rather playful cue that has a wonderful underscoring and melody. I have to mention the whimsical but good cue ‘Daisy’s Ballet Career’ that is a very strong addition to this already strong line-up. It also ends quite well with the slow and beautiful ‘Growing Younger’ and the ending cue ‘Benjamin and Daisy’ which is a jazzy piano playing the main theme, but adds its own flair.
Conclusion
The weakness of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is clearly that it has no cues that stand out, at least not in the way I want but all in all, it’s a worthwhile effort of Alexandre Desplat, but I wouldn’t put it near the top of 2008 scores as many have done so far. At first listen it felt a bit dull and flat, but it has grown on me and become a very good addition to my growing list of film scores.
Listen to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Alexandre Desplat below:
Film Review For The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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(8 votes, average: 9.13 out of 10)
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Comments
“is definitely over the top, but rather subtle and non-intrusive”. – how can a cue be both? This needs further explanation.
“‘Mr. Button’ which has a dramatic flair, but feels strangely dull. ” If you are going to call this cue dull, then i’d like to know why. In what way?
We’ve talked about this core before and nothing in the way you speak of it, denotes a score of 8, that’s the most “curious” thing of this review.
For Desplat’s crtics, i always point them in the way of THE LUHZIN (sp?) DEFENCE, a flat out 10/10 score from him, his best work and possibly even best of that respective year.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Oops, fixed. Thanks!
Dull, in the way that it’s a boring listen, meaning my mind wanders towards the half-full waste basket on the floor near the table and wonder if I should empty it or not. Lest you forget, boring and dullness can be a feeling while you are doing something. Some cues (not necessarily on this score) can be so painfully tedious to listen to that you would rather clean the house than do any more listening, but as the geeks we are, we keep listening anyway. That is ‘a’ definition of dull by the way. What is yours?
We talked about it after my first listen. As you yourself have told me a couple of times, a lot of things can change after the first listen. For you it was Flash of Genius I believe. I had an amazing transformation with Max Payne, from terrible to great. This is one of those scores that requires a few listens (at least for me) before I can really grasp it’s subtle beauty. I haven’t heard all of Desplat’s scores, but this has to be near the top. What did you think of this score Tim?
“Dull in the way that it’s a boring listen, meaning my mind wanders towards the half-full waste basket on the floor near the table and wonder if I should empty it or not. Lest you forget, boring and dullness can be a feeling while you are doing something. Some cues (not necessarily on this score) can be so painfully tedious to listen to that you would rather clean the house than do any more listening, but as the geeks we are, we keep listening anyway.”
This is exactly what needed to be in the review. Yes, I understand what dullness is, just not the exact degree of how dull you personally found it and I want that personality coming through in the reviews as well as descriptions of what the track does and does not achieve musically.
Only had the one listen to that score so i’m not qualified to say. I will say this though, Desplat always has one or two astounding cues per album. If he wins the oscar, I will put together a Desplat playlist of what I consider his best and why, for you and the readers, what do you think? Will maybe listen later today and reply to the thread when I have something to say.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 4th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Fair enough, perhaps I was a bit presumptuous.
I think you should put it together even if he doesn’t win the oscars. Sounds like a great idea.
Soundtrack Seek
I agree with the rating and most of the substance. I wouldn’t go as far to call any of the material dull, rather I found it consistent and flowing. How one cannot rank Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain as amongst the best of the album is beyond me as that cello solo was quite moving. I also agree that Submarine Attack is not a quality cue, but a balls out action cue would’ve been inappropriate given the film and surrounding musical material. Let’s not label Desplat as being normally weak on the action though, considering past efforts like Largo Winch, Firewall, Hostage, adn “Battle With The Tartars”, which was probably 2007’s finest action cue. An easy choice amongst the five Oscar noms.
Reply
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
“Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain” is good and among the best. The problem with the score as I mentioned is that no cue easily stand out so if you are picky about it it’s just as good as the other 4-stars cues.
I wasn’t seeking an all out Brian Tyler-esque cue for the action material of course, but action could be done better and certainly by Desplat who did a fine job on Largo Winch. Firewall, Hostage and The Golden Compass are not some of my favorite Desplat scores.
As far as oscars go I have another favorite, but Curious are second in close combat with Wall-E.
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