Suffragette - ALexandre Desplat |
10/31/15 |
"Go ahead. We dare you to not let us vote."
Major, meet minor!
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What You Will Hear: Pulsing bass, full strings, and a slight jazz influence that makes for a unique tonal structure. (Lot of blues? Major vs. minor?) Beyond the main theme, most of the score is ethereal and somewhat bleak.
Standout Tracks: Suffragette, An Army, Votes For Women, Epsom Derby Will You Be Humming Along? Yes, the quirky main theme will catch your ear right at the start. The score this makes me want to dust off: Seven Years In Tibet – John Williams Will I come back to it? This score caught me off guard. I expected an uplifting historical drama (because I don’t believe in research). But, Suffragette sounds much more harshly realistic. With track names like “Beaten” and “Abuse,” there is some heavy stuff here. After that initial surprise, the score made for a very interesting listening experience. The jazz influence (I’m assuming this based on the time period) switches the melody between minor and major within just a couple of measures. Listen to the opening track. Just a few notes in, the melodic development will most definitely take you by surprise. Harmonically, you’ll also be kept guessing. The melody sometimes resolves with a question mark, and other times the resolution feels like a warm blanket. Desplat really explored the possibilities with his main theme. The pulsing bass that shows up from time to time is also an agent of discontent. It sounds slightly out of sync (too modern?) with the rest of the instrumentation choices. But, if this score is supposed to convey the horrible reality of gender inequality, the overall mix works well. It all adds up to a soundscape that will keep you from relaxing. This score is an accomplishment in that the composer never took the obvious route. While I probably won’t be returning for much more than the main theme, I very much appreciate Desplat’s wonderful effort. |
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