Soundtrack Review: The Tree Of Life (2011)
| Reviewer: JØrn Tillnes |
The Tree Of Life Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score The Tree Of Life by Alexandre Desplat.
"There's a lot more going on here than meets the ear"
Terrence Malick is one of those directors who think that the visual should be more important than anything else. His films are an acquired taste, but the music has generally been quite good. The film stars Sean Penn and Brad Pitt and follows the story about a dysfunctional family in the 1950s. We get to see the life of the eldest son Jack as he goes through different phases of life as he works through the issues with his father. The composer this time is not Hans Zimmer or James Horner, but prolific composer Alexandre Desplat.
Track List
| 1. Childhood | **** |
| 2. Circles | **** |
| 3. Clouds | **** |
| 4. River | ***** |
| 5. Awakening | **** |
| 6. Emergence of Life | **** |
| 7. Light & Darkness | *** |
| 8. Good & Evil | *** |
| 9. Motherhood | **** |
| 10. City of Glass | *** |
| 11. Fatherhood | **** |
| 12. Temptation | *** |
| 13. Skies | **** |
Dreamy
Malick wanted Desplat to score a dreamy score, like water flowing through the veins of life, a fluid stream from birth to death. Just as important, he needed to write music for emotions such as hate, love and that includes lots of light and dark music.
The score is certainly dreamy. From the first cue 'Childhood' where it begins all innocent and pure with some simple piano upon a string of underscore Desplat guides you through what is ultimately an experimental score for Desplat.
In 'Circles' we hear the old erratic bass rhythm that Desplat includes in all the score, but the 11 minutes and 23 second cue includes a lot more. At first listen it may seem all the same, but there's a lot going on beneath the surface.
Most of these tracks follow an ambient formula. I felt that 'River' is one cue that stands out with some drama and flair, almost a little drip from his "New Moon" score. There are other cues like 'Motherhood' and 'Fatherhood' that has a little more than just an ambient feeling to it, but overall, it felt very much like an ambient score.
I feel however that there's not a lot of visits to the darker side of life here. If Desplat was hired to convey life and it's emotions, then for me, I don't see it working very well. There's 'Temptation' that is the darkest track on the score, but besides that there's virtually nothing.
Conclusion
If you just listen to this score casually, you might not get the nuances within. There's a lot more going on here than meets the ear. I thought the score was a little light and perhaps too dreamy, but it is all intentional (except for perhaps the overall light tone). It didn't felt boring, but it didn't fill me with emotions either. An emotion-less score by Desplat, but it is an easy and light listening experience for most of us.
CUE RATING: 75.3
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Listen to The Tree Of Life soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat below:
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