Search - Alexandre Desplat :: Afterwards (OST)

It's an underwhelming and uninspiring score by Desplat

soundtrackgeek | Norway | 12/21/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"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?



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.



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.



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."

Dream-like and delicate

Jon Broxton | Thousand Oaks, CA | 01/06/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Afterwards is a metaphysical romantic drama directed by Gilles Bourdos and starring Romain Duris as Nathan, a brilliant New York lawyer whose personal life has become a mess since his divorce from Claire (Evangeline Lilly), his only love. However, when everything changes when Nathan meets Kay (John Malkovich), a mysterious doctor who introduces himself as a "Messenger" and tells Nathan that he is able to sense when certain people are about to die. This mysterious, moody film has a score by Alexandre Desplat, returning to work with director Bourdos for the first time since the pair collaborated on the score for Inquiétudes in 2003.



As with all of Desplat's work, the music for Afterwards is classically beautiful and effortlessly elegant, anchored by a gorgeous theme for piano, strings and harp first heard in the opening cue, "The Wonder of Life", and the finale, "Lost". Unlike many Desplat scores, however, Afterwards is tinged with an almost subliminal sense of quiet melancholy; the music is lovely, but it's certainly not intended to make you feel especially happy. Cues like "River Flows", the exquisite "Dandelions", and the beautiful "White Sands" have a hypnotic, calming effect; subdued, but not sullen, making use of almost minimalistic repeated chords and tones, and soft performances by guitars, harps, solo cello, solo piano, and muted string sustains. Once or twice the music picks up pace and offers a little bit of urgency and boldness. The Birth-like synth pulses in "N.D.E." and "The Messenger", and the increased brass element and percussive beats of cues such as "Vision", "Last Exit to Albuquerque", "Kind of Red" and "Tell Me When" are welcome variations, adding life to what could otherwise have become a slightly stale score. There is also a distinct jazziness to certain cues, especially in the way muted trumpets and subtle brushed snares are incorporated into cues such as the impressionistic "Crossroad". Desplat's use of brass in these cues is, at times, almost Don Davis-like, with chromatic layering effects and stark piano chords giving the music a stressful, somewhat threatening aura.



For the most part, Afterwards is a score not given to bold thematic statements or overt sentiment, although towards the end of the album it does become much more dark and propulsive. Nevertheless, it does leave a positive impression with its dream-like textures and delicate orchestrations, and is well worth seeking out for those who think that Desplat is only capable of writing pretty little waltzes. Not a crowd pleaser, but one which can easily be appreciated for its intelligent construct and its adherence to the dramatic turns of the narrative."