The Upside of Anger

Few composers so new to the scene impress with such regularity, but to date, Alexandre Desplat has produced scores that have been an unqualified success and, pleasingly, within a wide variety of genres. From the arthouse Girl With the Pearl Earring to the recent thriller Hostage, each one has been in his refreshingly tasteful style, yet with an instant grasp for the requirements of the genre. The Upside of Anger is yet another charming score and, even if it doesn't quite reach the heights of his previous efforts, still has plenty to recommend. The film stars Joan Allen and Kevin Costner in a romantic comedy/drama, although given the rather mature pedigree of its stars, this is more mid-life crisis than teen angst. The film received some extremely favourable reviews, but doesn't appear to have made much of a splash otherwise.
As ever, Desplat presents some charming melodies and while they aren't quite so memorable as his earlier creations are still quite lovely. As ever, his delicate orchestration only enhances the effervescence of the soundscape, this time emphasising strings, piano, harp and a twinkling celesta. If the latter sounds like it might be rather twee or cliché, then fear not, Desplat knows exactly what he's doing, using it only sparingly and to great effect. Although only lightly comedic, there are some delightful moments, notably Denny's in the Mood (and later Not in the Mood) which bounces around with a cheeky playfulness. It feels similar to a Marc Shaiman or John Debney comedy moment, but Desplat's lightness of touch makes it all so much more palatable than the aforementioned might have come up with. Unsurprisingly, the finest moments are those with a little more dramatic pull, The Grave in particular being an especially sombre interlude for strings which reveals a surprisingly genuine level of pathos. It almost feels a touch out of place in such an otherwise rather frothy score, but is such a fine stand alone piece that this is a minor quibble.

In light of the death of Elmer Bernstein, there yet fewer composers in Hollywood who can score this type of film with any sensitivity and produce interesting score albums, but Desplat is rapidly solidifying his position as one of the best. Bernstein's (and Randy Newman's, for that matter) timelessness and lightness is much in evidence (if less heavy on the Americana feel), with some of glassy and occasionally quirky orchestration (little moments such as a light ticking percussion idea in Summer, for example) of Thomas Newman. However, on no account take those comments to mean that Desplat's style is anything but his own. Even if the material is approached from the same angle, you would never mistake his writing for any of those illustrious composers' efforts. While it may not quite have the variety, invention or melodic stature of some of his other works, The Upside of Anger is still considerably above average for a frothy romantic comedy/drama and, as such, well worth a listen.

The Upside of Anger is only available as a download from the iTunes store. No word on a CD release, so those not quite so technologically minded may be a touch disappointed. Either that, or it's a fine excuse to get connected - downloading music really is the future (sorry LP stalwarts).