Forward Scoring... In Reverse
At the prospect of scoring a picture based on one man's journey of living life biologically in reverse, as is the curious case of Benjamin Button, what
kind of theme might you create if you were the composer? To commence with a fully developed motif that is subject to disassembly as the film progresses may offer
intrigue, but would likely suffer disconnect right from the beginning as it distracts an audience from an already difficult subject to comprehend. French
composer Alexandre Desplat has the answer: a musical palindrome. His theme for Benjamin Button would work both ways. "I composed melodies in which
the notes could be played both forwards and backwards, and chords that could be switched from major to minor," says Desplat. Aside from his theme
for Button, "most of the melodies are sparsely re-used; I tried to keep the sense of movement going forward, as Benjamin does." The first CD, representing
Desplat's original score, of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button soundtrack (Concord Records) is an easy listen on the surface...
mostly gentle as an innocent tone firmly - yet quietly - bonds a variety of themes that come and go over the course of a life-long story. Scratching
the surface, though, reveals a multi-layered "glue" of subtlety. As Desplay puts it, "every melody and motif carefully positioned at the crossroads of
emotions." The second CD of music contains much less subtlety as Button's own dialog narrates through period tunes of 1930s and 40s New Orleans;
for those who seek movie memorabilia in your soundtracks, this is the CD for you. Here's some useless trivia that may be a good omen for the
Oscar-nominated Desplat: the last time Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett appeared together (he on the left, she on the right) in the artwork on a Concord Records release, the
composer won the Oscar. Bonne chance!
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