Soundtrack Review: Afterwards / Et après (2009)

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This is a review of the motion picture score Afterwards / Et après by Alexandre Desplat.

“Ultimately it’s an underwhelming and lacking effort to create a gripping drama score by Alexandre Desplat”

Alexandre Desplat has been busy in recent months with Largo Winch, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which has received a nomination for best score at the oscars and now this French movie called Et Apres. The movie is a drama about Nathan, a New York lawyer who despite having professional success, can’t get over his divorce with the love of his life Claire. His life turns around when he meets a doctor who claims he knows when people are about to die and want Nathan to help them get their affairs in order. Judging by his track record, this should be just about perfect for Alexandre Desplat who excels at drama movies. Does he succeed?

Track List

1. The Wonder Of Life (****)
   
2. Crossroad (***)
3. River Flows (****)
   
4. N.D.E (**)
5. Vision (**)
6. Dandelions (****)
   
7. Alexandre C (***)
8. New Mexico (****)
   
9. Last Exit To Albuquerque (***)
10. White Sand (****)
    
11. Kind Of Red (**)
12. The Messenger (**)
13. Tell Me When (***)
14. Here & Now (***)
15. The Night Blooming Cereus (***)
16. Angel Reflections (**)
17. The Swan’s Song (***)
18. Lost (****)
    

Main Theme

The main theme called ‘The Wonder of a Life’ is a typical Alexandre Desplat theme. It has a slow buildup and is a minimalistic theme in which we have heard him do before. It’s the best cue on the score with piano as the main force with a string section close behind. It doesn’t impress or remain very memorable however it is a nice start. There aren’t any other notable themes which is a bit of a shame as it would improve the score quite a bit. Instead we are presented with mostly repetitive motifs and cue without much presence.

‘Crossroads‘ and ‘N.D.E.‘ are typical examples of the kind of music you can expect from the Afterwards soundtrack. It’s usually cues made up of ambient tones and a little blurt of a horn which I don’t see the point of. It’s very annoying and serves no purpose (as far as I know). ‘Alexandre C‘ and ‘Angel Reflection’ are two other examples. I could probably go on, but I have to say I am very disappointed. This score is one of my most anticipated of the year and yet Alexandre Desplat can’t reach the levels of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Largo Winch from last year.

Similar to Curious

The cues which are good on the score is surprisingly (or not surprisingly as the case may be) very similar to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. These are the main title ‘The Wonder of Life’, ‘River Flows’, ‘Dandelions‘, ‘New Mexico’, ‘White Sand’ and the ending ‘Lost‘. They don’t differ much from each other except perhaps ‘New Mexico’ which has a slightly faster tempo and doesn’t rely too much on the xylophone instrument he loves to use. The use of swinging violins is quite nice and makes this cue stand out. The other I mentioned you have heard before on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The problem isn’t necessarily in the bad cues, but in the better ones. It feels old, heard it all before and perhaps the biggest sin of all, fails to really impress, to push the envelope. A good score should at least have a couple of really good cues but there is no sign of those in Afterwards. As mentioned (a few hundred times before) the criticism of Alexandre Desplat is that he sometimes makes music that is dull and flat, and here he certainly gives a big chunk of flesh to the hungry Desplat naysayers.

Conclusion

Ultimately it’s an underwhelming and lacking effort to create a gripping drama score by Alexandre Desplat. It’s certainly drama, but where are the great dramatic cues? The positive themes or the negative themes? They are sadly missing here and the Desplat-formula needs to be spruced up a bit before his next effort. If you are a fan, there might be something here for you, if not, then stay clear.

Listen to Afterwards / Et après by Alexandre Desplat below:

Other articles of interest:

• Soundtrack Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
• Soundtrack Review: Watchmen (2009)
• Soundtrack Review: Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
• Soundtrack Review: August Rush the score (2009)
• Soundtrack Review: Dragonball Evolution (2009)

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