OVP: Original Score (2009)

OVP: Best Original Score (2009)

The Nominees Were...

James Horner, Avatar
Alexandre Desplat, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, The Hurt Locker
Hans Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes
Michael Giacchino, Up

My Thoughts: Despite the lack of a nomination for John Williams (he wasn't eligible-this wasn't one of those rare years where he missed), there are a lot of repeat nominees in the 2009 lineup.  In fact, only Buck Sanders was enjoying his first nomination in this lineup, which featured a pair of animated films, the Best Picture frontrunners, and finally one of those films that makes it because the Academy loves the composer.  Let's start with him, shall we?

Hans Zimmer, as I've pointed out before, goes hot and cold with Oscar-sometimes he's their favorite person, other times he cannot get nominated to save his life.  After just coming off a controversial snub for The Dark Knight (originally Zimmer had been deemed ineligible, then he had the decision reversed, but still couldn't manage to get cited for the film), it seemed appropriate for the Academy to bring him back in their good graces and this was the first of a back-to-back pair of nominations for the Oscar-winner.

The score matches the personality of the film perfectly, something that Zimmer usually manages to pull off (he is frequently compared to John Williams, but Zimmer molds to his film considerably better-you can’t always pick out one of his scores).  Holmes is a rowdy, action-filled mystery, and that’s exactly what Zimmer goes for here, utilizing a series of unconventional instruments (a cimbalom and a broken pub piano, amongst others, give the film its raucous beat and great 19^th century feel), and overall I was impressed.

Michael Giacchino’s music in the Pixar films is always lovely, and here we get a bouncy but occasionally melancholy piece like “Married Life,” which haunts the film.  One of the really remarkable things about Pixar during the late aughts was that it shied away from almost anything related to children’s cinema (who else could pull off a film about a cranky old man and animate it in American cinema?).  Giacchino’s work frequently relies on heavy recurring themes (this is what made Lost his magnum opus, and why he’s better in television where he can recall similar emotions across a long storyline), which is great during the earlier half of the films, but veers a bit too much into the Randy Newman level of music (which doesn’t quite fit the latter moments of the film) when you get to the Paradise Falls portion of the movie.  However, this is nit-picking with a great score, and, as I pointed out “Married Life” may be the single best piece of music used in a film in 2009.

Like a lot of things in The Hurt Locker, the actual music utilized underwhelmed me.  Marco Beltrami’s score finds the ominous nature of the film, and to its credit, doesn’t overwhelm the movie (this is something that Zimmer’s score can be accused of in certain moments).  However, I found the score to be too derivative of Ennio Morricone’s work in certain spaces, and was used too sparingly and too non-descriptly in the non-peak moments of the film.  Overall, it’s lovely music on its own but gets too lost in the shuffle to actually warrant this citation.

Speaking of film’s that are stealing from Ennio Morricone (I know the OVP may cause me to eat my words on this, but it’s absolutely ridiculous that man never won a competitive Oscar…I know the honorary award makes up for that, but still), Fantastic Mr. Fox has that wonderful lone whistle to welcome the main title, and the film’s score is playful, if a bit shocking for an Academy pick (there’s quite a bit of relying on non-original music in the score, something they traditionally shy away from).  I never quite know how to count something like “Boggis, Bunce, and Bean” which is delightful, but gets a lot of that delight from the lyrics of the cheeky song, which is not necessarily part of the musical score (instead, part of a song score).  Either way, this was the big surprise of the bunch and was a fun inclusion.

Finally, we have the most traditional choice for the Oscars, James Horner’s melodic and rich score to Avatar.  Horner’s music is always fitting of an epic-relying heavily on drums and vocalists (there is singing in the native language of Na’vi).  Horner’s scores are very specific, I have found-you look at something like Titanic or Braveheart, and they work, but this is not a man who adapts well to small films.  That said, there’s nothing small about Avatar and this score hits all of the big notes and is aurally intoxicating in pieces like “You Don’t Dream in Cryo,” though like Zimmer’s work in Sherlock Holmes, it occasionally veers into the “overpowering the movie” camp.

Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes generally go a little bit out of the Academy’s comfort zone with this category, and so along with Up and Avatar we see Marvin Hamlisch’s terrific score to The Informant!, Abel Korzeniowski’s wonderfully lush work in A Single Man, and Karen O/Curter Burwell’s work in Where the Wild Things Are (it’s worth noting that while the prolific Burwell is still searching for his inevitable first Oscar nomination, Karen O would score in Best Song four years later for Her).  Giacchino took the Globe.  The Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music at the BAFTA Awards also went to Up, with Oscar-nominated Avatar and Fantastic Mr. Fox being joined by T-Bone Burnett’s Crazy Heart and the only-at-the-BAFTA’s Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Chaz Jankel).  As far as sixth place goes, Hamlisch is certainly a possibility, but the rest just don’t seem up Oscar’s speed.  It was probably one of the “usual contenders” like Alexandre Desplat’s Julie & Julia, Thomas Newman’s Brothers, or James Newton Howard’s It’s Complicated.

Films I Would Have Nominated: This isn’t a bad lineup of films-while not exactly the list I would have gone with, the only swap I’d make would be The Hurt Locker (clearly my lowest-ranking nominee) in favor of the brilliant work of A Single Man.  Frequently that overly-stylized film veers into a Dior commercial with its cinematography and editing, but the music helps Ford’s vision so much that it’s difficult not to recognize it.  Honestly, it’d probably take my vote out of all films released that year.

Oscar’s Choice: Fourteen years after Pocahontas inexplicably stopped the animated score gravy train at the Oscars, it started up again as Giacchino won for the first time in this category (and picked up Pixar’s first award here).

My Choice: A tough call between Avatar, Up, and Sherlock Holmes, and while I think that Zimmer’s overall work is probably slightly more interesting, I cannot help but follow the consensus-when Up’s score is on its game, it’s by far the best thing in this category, and so I’ll go with the Oscar victor.  He is followed by Sherlock, Avatar, Mr. Fox, and The Hurt Locker.

Those are my thoughts-how about yours?  Is everyone on the Up bandwagon, or is there some dissent?  If so, who do you vote for?  And what was the best overall score of 2009?  Share in the comments!

Also in 2009: Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2009

Past Best Score Contests: 2010, 2011, 2012