The Ides of March Composed by Alexandre Desplat
Varese Sarabande (2011)
Rating:
7/10
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“Aside from the central core of DESPLAT’S
music, THE IDES OF MARCH is a quite reserved score in its emotions,
choosing to accent the scenes rather than overwhelm them in any
way.”
Not Too Brute
Review by Richard Buxton
The last few years have seen ALEXANDRE DESPLAT evolve from an up and
coming feature composer to one of the most sought after in Hollywood, yet
he is one that remains divisive depending on how his music is heard.
DESPLAT is undoubtedly one of the most talented composers in the art of
pure music-to-film correlation working today. Once his music is extracted
from its original residency within the walls of a motion picture however,
cracks tend to show. These cracks are not displays of inadequacy in
compositional skill, rather the effects of the transformation a score
undergoes when it is heard out of context. DESPLAT is certainly not known
for writing bombastically memorable fanfares that the likes of JOHN
WILLIAMS thrive on, and this is something that has to be taken into
account when assessing his work.
DESPLAT retains his enviable ability to craft a musical score as if it and
the film were one and the same with his score for the GEORGE CLOONEY film
THE IDES OF MARCH. THE IDES OF MARCH dwells within the dark and deceitful
world of modern-day politics, following the descent of the bright-eyed and
idealistic campaign manager Stephen Meyers (RYAN GOSLING), into a world of
guile, treachery and uninhibited ambition. The development that both the
protagonist and his world undergo has allowed DESPLAT to craft a score
that interweaves between the optimism and inevitable corruption of a young
political mind.
Whilst the ideals of and perception of each character in the film
undergoes significant transformation, DESPLAT’S is an instant indication
of things to come as his score shifts between contemplation and
suspenseful pensiveness, to militaristic and posturing marches. DESPLAT’S
main theme for THE IDES OF MARCH comes in two similar, but ultimately
designed for different purposes, forms. Heard in the opening track “The
Ides of March” (1), the flickering three-to-a-fourth note motif sits above
a brooding bass and provides just enough juxtaposing patriotism within its
short lifespan to suggest the underlying undertones of deceit within
CLOONEY’S depiction of the US political machine. The climactic percussive
shuffles round out this subtle, but effective rendition of the main theme.
The other, and perhaps superior, variation of the main theme is heard
frequently throughout the score but never more prominently than in “The
Candidate” (5) and “The Campaign” (15). The latter piece provides a bare
bones version of the theme, favouring the militaristic percussion over the
more rounded and fuller sound heard in the former. The simplicity of the
theme is accentuated in its playful representation here, but it is in “The
Candidate” that the theme really shines. The piece begins with a string
rendition of the theme that is followed by an accumulation of percussion,
strings, brass, and guitar that builds with increasingly impressive
swagger and pomp. It is in DESPLAT’S experimentation with the central
motif that THE IDES OF MARCH excels, and in particular those moments that
value sheer presence over subtlety. The motif appears in other variations
such as the solemn and reflective “Doubt” (7), but it is the
aforementioned tracks that it finds its most successful form.
Aside from the central core of DESPLAT’S music, THE IDES OF MARCH is a
quite reserved score in its emotions, choosing to accent the scenes rather
than overwhelm them in any way. This can lead to somewhat of a decrease in
the score’s attraction out of context, but it is still potent enough to
conjure memories of the various scenes found within the film experience.
The cycling bass line heard in “Undercurrents” (2) and “Lobbying” (13)
provides ample tension and works well in shadowing the themes of deception
and self-interest that course through the film. The sporadic blasts of
brass underline the tenuous lines between political survival and political
death that the characters creep across throughout the film and serve to
liven up the subtler musical moments.
The only real major downfall that this score experiences in terms of
listening out of context comes in the track “The Betrayal” (12). Almost
the entire track consists of near silent underscoring and, without the
relieving appearance of the main motif; one might question its purpose
within the soundtrack release.
THE IDES OF MARCH is a likely to be a score has little to no middle
ground. The listener will either like what they hear, or not. Beyond the
central motifs, DESPLAT offers little to get excited about, but also
little that can be criticized considering how well it works within the
film. The repetition heard throughout is likely to irritate those unable
to form an attachment to the score’s highlights, but for those that can
THE IDES OF MARCH provides an interesting and provocative listening
experience.
