Paul

After a somewhat bland and disappointing start for Hollywood movies, American audiences will find a sigh of relief this weekend when the movie Paul opens in theaters. The R-rated comedy written by and costarring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost has a cool, relaxed, and foul-mouthed green alien taking them on a road trip of a lifetime. After visiting Comic-Con in San Diego, the two nerds and best friends, Graeme and Clive (played by Pegg and Frost), decide to embark on a journey that will take them to all of the “extraterrestrial” places made famous by years of media and Hollywood hype. Passing through places like the Little A’Le’Inn, the friends eventually reach Area 51. This is where Paul hops in the RV. As expected, he is being chased by the government and the two friends have to save him. The traditional chase ensues, a love interest develops, rivalries emerge, and many religious and political themes are lightly, yet consistently brought up by many of the characters — possibly the one negative aspect of the film.

Obviously referencing many of the great movies of the past, including “E.T” — which you’ll find out was pitched to Spielberg by the one and only Paul — the film is very enjoyable and quite funny. With a superb cast that includes Jason Bateman, a very likable Seth Rogen as the voice of the odd alien, plus many surprise cameo appearances, Paul delivers a very quirky story that doesn’t require any more depth than the comedic one. That said, the CGI alien is quite possibly one of the most impressive and well-made movie creatures. But in truth, it is David Arnold’s score that gives that American, cross-country trip feel (with a few of the killer action/adventure chase cues particular of Arnold’s scores), lifting and transforming the whole movie into a sweet and whimsical journey. The music connects incredibly well with the characters, locales, and storyline, thus creating a remarkable score that is surely representative of David Arnold’s talent.

The Ondes Martenot heard in the main title establishes the alien sound quality most audiences easily recognize. This is a device that Arnold will use sparingly but very effectively. A few of the motifs, including the one played by the vibes, are heard in this track but nothing is yet developed. “Road Trip Number 1” introduces the first and main theme: the road melody that will accompany Clive, Graeme and Paul in their journey. This five-note theme is incredibly lighthearted and will be featured more prominently when played by the harmonica in later tracks like “Road Trip Number 2.” The guitar often fuses with strings to create a lively accompaniment that keeps a somewhat rustic undertone. A very interesting change happens in “Road Trip Number 2” where Arnold has to deal with back and forth shots of the RV and the bad guys chasing him. He manages to integrate the bad guys theme very well and even features rock guitar chords to accentuate the menacing government agents. Not surprisingly, this sound quickly adopts the tonalities heard in Arnold's cues for the Bond films.

The third most important theme is the love theme, first heard in the track “Window Shopping.” In the movie we hear this theme in an earlier scene and will resurface every time Graeme and Ruth are about to kiss. Interestingly, the guitar-driven melody is gentle but not sappy or over-emotional and on screen it highlights what is perceived as a naïve vision of love by two characters who most likely have only been in a handful of relationships. Regarding the other few emotional moments, Arnold deals with them rather delicately yet quite thematically. An example of this can be heard in “You Gotta Try” where he conclusively reveals Paul’s musical identity. Of course, this is the most momentous scene of the film. Following this key moment, Arnold finally resolves the love theme in “1st Contact” and then finishes the score in a grandiose way with “Goodbye.” Undoubtedly, this will be one of the best individual cues of the year. Arnold mainly focuses on the main/road theme but also features the vibes motif representative of Paul. This time, though, the orchestra takes charge in helping the evolution of the whole musical composition. Slowly, the piece builds up through piano fragments and fabulous string orchestrations. Three and a half minutes into the track, Arnold finally unleashes the entire orchestra with the main theme being played by a trumpet. Soon after, an entire choir joins them and the resulting climatic orchestration is beyond first-class.

The soundtrack release by Universal Music features a combination of Arnold’s score and some songs heard during the film. Honestly, during the movie I hardly noticed many of the songs and, unfortunately, only about 22 minutes of the complete score are included in the CD. Alas, omitted from the album is the cue we hear when Paul is talking to, let’s just say a friend, which later evolves into an amazing explosion-packed car chase sequence. In the album, a track named “Chase” is included, but it almost seems generic when compared to some of the other tracks David Arnold did for the movie — most notably the 8 minute piece just referenced. However, the music presented in this release is quite illustrative of the entire score, and thankfully all themes are included. While some people will attack the score saying that in the action sequences one can clearly hear Arnold’s signature sound, the real merit of this work is the brilliant integration of four themes into an overall good-natured and whimsical movie. David Arnold delivers a fantastic score and both the movie and music complement one another in creating what already is the most entertaining release of the year.