Soundtrack Review: Definitely, Maybe by Clint Mansell (2008)
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This is a review of the motion picture score for Definitely, Maybe by Clint Mansell.
Romantic comedies and Clint Mansell is not something you hear too often. He has dabbled in the area, but has not strayed too far. This British composer has done some astounding work, most notably for Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. Definitely, Maybe has gotten a good reception, and also the music is well received by most. It is therefore with great anticipation I listened to this score and hope Clint Mansell is onto a winner. Here is the track list for Definitely, Maybe:
- Will Hayes For President!
- Here Comes Summer
- For Emily (Whoever She May Be…)
- April (Come She Will)
- Jane Eyre
- Panic Stations…
- An Evening At The Odeon
- Sunday, Sunday
- Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man…
- It’s April
- Summer’s Over
- The Candidate
- Second Thoughts
- Maya Knows…
- The Happy Ending Is You
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Countdown
- April’s Story
18 tracks and a total playtime of 34:21, that’s not a good start. Let’s start with something good. One can’t argue with the originality of this score. Orchestra fans might be disappointed, because there simply isn’t any orchestration. Instead Clint Mansell has gone a different route this time with an almost folk rock score which at first glance can remind you of Explosion in the Sky’s score to Friday Night Lights. That’s the thing though. It’s a nice campy score, but it’s not good enough. There is a wonderful theme you can hear a little of in the cue “April (Come She Will)”, but unfortunately Clint Mansell didn’t hear it and chose to play music that nobody really cares about except perhaps fans of the movie. In the movie, it works, but I can’t imagine listen to this on a regular basis outside of it.
That was a rather negative take on it, but don’t get me wrong. It isn’t terrible. It’s just that Clint Mansell seems to have forgotten what makes cues like “Lux Aeterna” from the score to “Requiem for a Dream” so memorable and instead created a light folksy score which is nice, but just don’t do it for me. This is lazy work by Mr. Clint Mansell, and if you want to listen to a great score with guitars, then listen to Friday Night Lights instead. Listen to Definitely, Maybe below:
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(5 votes, average: 9 out of 10)
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Comments
Yeah, there’s something about the sound, the quality of it… how it just lingers in the back of your mind. Good observation!
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The Fountain soundtrack is my favorite film score…EVER! If Clint sticks to collaborating with Mr. Aronofsky, then he will produce more good stuff, no doubt.
Mrs. Thuro’s last blog post..The Painted Veil (No Spoilers)
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The Fountain is amazing, almost as good as Requiem for a Dream. Yeah, let him and Mr. Aronofsky do more movies together!
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for some reason , i love this soundtrack , mostly the string sounds of ” It’s April ” , do you still know where this soundtrack may still be available ? Please&ThankYou
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Glad you liked it Stephanie. The soundtrack is still available and in stock on Amazon 
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I cannot say I am surprised by your negative take on this score, it is very lazy, annoyingly so.
But that Friday Night Lights score…wowza. I love how great the strings sound, very effective.
Nick Plowman’s last blog post..Weekend Attractions (20 - 24 March ‘08)
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