# Desplat's Midnight Sky



## South Thames (Dec 28, 2020)

Nots sure if anyone has seen Midnight Sky, which is a flawed but ambitious and moving film which contains some of the loveliest music Desplat has written in a long time. This cue in particular is exquisite - so rare to hear music like this in films today:


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## cug (Dec 29, 2020)

South Thames said:


> Nots sure if anyone has seen Midnight Sky, which is a flawed but ambitious and moving film which contains some of the loveliest music Desplat has written in a long time. This cue in particular is exquisite - so rare to hear music like this in films today:


Agreed! Interesting that he plays flute on this and a lot of his other scores. He was one of three credited flute players.


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## South Thames (Dec 30, 2020)

cug said:


> Agreed! Interesting that he plays flute on this and a lot of his other scores. He was one of three credited flute players.


That is interesting. I had no idea. Perhaps explains his distinctive use of those instruments.


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## dcoscina (Dec 30, 2020)

Yes it’s a beautifully score. I was also impressed with how up front the music was for The Queen’s Gambit (not Desplat but very much written in a similar style) which is also on Netflix.

I’m optimistic that we are seeing somewhat of a renaissance of sorts where music is becoming, once again, a more pivotal character in some films rather than background mood and atmosphere. Funny that it’s happening in tv so to speak. But I’m happy that it’s happening anyhow.

Desplat has always been a favourite of mine. I’m particularly fond of his Isle of Dogs because it’s so unique (he really nailed the sound of Japanese composers Ifukube, Sato and Hayasaka). His lyrical music however is unmatched practically and he’s got a deft sense of lyricism that is endemic to much of his output.


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## Loïc D (Dec 30, 2020)

Big fan of Desplats here too.
This score surprised me with a lot of diversity. Definitely one of his best (I love Danish Girl too).


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## cloudbuster (Dec 30, 2020)

Same here, big fan, especially of the beautiful simplicity in his 'Syriana' score. I remember that I literally stopped the movie at some point to google for the composer.


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## apollinaire (Dec 31, 2020)

I saw it a few nights ago and was disappointed overall with the movie. I’m a big fan of Desplat (The Danish Girl, Syriana, Birth, Coco Before Chanel, etc). However, i found the score to be oddly jumbled (as was the movie itself). There were spots that had a European romanticism which i thought sounded strange against the somber storyline and space/sci-fi images. 

There was one moment, i can't remember the scene now (where it felt like the music was definitely carrying the movie) in which i thought to my self...”damn, (Desplat) is writing his a## off here”. It was a long cue with intricate weaving lines and orchestration….really impressive and thrilling, technically.
Overall, though, not my favorite sci-fi score.


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## ryans (Dec 31, 2020)

apollinaire said:


> I saw it a few nights ago and was disappointed overall with the movie. I’m a big fan of Desplat (The Danish Girl, Syriana, Birth, Coco Before Chanel, etc). However, i found the score to be oddly jumbled (as was the movie itself). There were spots that had a European romanticism which i thought sounded strange against the somber storyline and space/sci-fi images.
> 
> There was one moment, i can't remember the scene now (where it felt like the music was definitely carrying the movie) in which i thought to my self...”damn, (Desplat) is writing his a## off here”. It was a long cue with intricate weaving lines and orchestration….really impressive and thrilling, technically.
> Overall, though, not my favorite sci-fi score.


Have to agree..

There were a few times where I found the score distracting to the point of working against the picture... but I'm going to blame that on the director heh...

Listening to the score afterwards, some beautiful writing... but in many places it just didn't blend with the film.


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## ptram (Dec 31, 2020)

apollinaire said:


> It was a long cue with intricate weaving lines and orchestration….really impressive and thrilling, technically.
> Overall, though, not my favorite sci-fi score.


For _Mission to Mars_ by De Palma, Morricone also wrote a very romantic score, I think previously unheard in sci-fi movies. It changed the perspective from the usual cold imaginary technology-driven movie, with super-human heroes, to that of a story in which one could feel the characters alive and very much human. Not a story set in a far future, but a contemporary drama.

Paolo


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## Maurenon (Jan 1, 2021)

South Thames said:


> That is interesting. I had no idea. Perhaps explains his distinctive use of those instruments.


I believe Desplats main instrument, the one he's classically trained in is the flute, so his often creative writing for it is probably because of that. 

As for his score to the midnight sky, I liked the title track and a few other cues, but I've heard better scores from him in the past. A little different was that he used horns for melodic lines here and there which is something at least I haven't heard him do before. 

I haven't seen the film, but I have read the book and was rather underwhelmed by it. It wasn't horrible, but very slow and unremarkable. I don't understand why anyone would chose this particular story to film when there are plenty of others who probably would work much better. But hey, I'm neither George Clooney nor a Hollywood director, so what do I know? ☺️


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