Posts Tagged ‘New Moon’

As Chris Weitz, Director of New Moon, said himself at a recent fan event in London, many soundtracks are plagued by dull leftovers from big acts – but this one was fortunate not to suffer such fate. It was never going to pack quite the same punch as the first Twilight film: powerful, fast paced rock numbers are not New Moon. It is not a “fun” film, it focuses on depression, heartbreak (and yet more teenage angst): cue a refreshingly mature soundtrack.

Death Cab For Cutie’s contribution ‘Meet Me At The Equinox’ serves its purpose as the introductory track. Nothing about it is ground breaking; it is more of an icebreaker. It is exactly what you would expect of the brooding quartet, smooth, unobtrusive, with modest riffs. A song you would listen to on shuffle without complaint. It isn’t in the film, but it doesn’t really feel like it’s missing. The Killers’ ‘White Demon Song’ is a surprisingly subtle effort: no sign of the overbearing guitar familiar to their biggest hits, yet the ironic tones of Mr Brandon Flower’s vocals are a perfect choice. It’s a shame it was wasted on the credits.

Thom Yorke’s electro-melancholy effort ‘Hearing Damage’ accompanies the pursuit of the vampire Victoria by the wolf pack: a smart move by the musical director. A fight between giant werewolves and a vampire is surreal enough without some overdramatic number making it impossible to stomach: Yorke’s usual understated style serves as the ideal neutralizing agent.

Beautiful piano piece ‘The Meadow’ by Alexandre Desplat approaches Bella’s rediscovery of the clearing and the memories it holds with the required degree of elegance, whilst still encompassing the emotional turmoil. Sadly it will always be compared unfairly to Bella’s lullaby, its counterpart in the first film. Tracks such as ‘Satellite Heart’ by Anya Marina and ‘All I Believe In’ by The Magic Numbers, were crying out for a bigger place in the film: they deserved more.

Editors’ ‘No Sound But The Wind’ is huge. ‘Friends’ by Band of Skulls is awesome. Muse are always epic. But the standout track by far, has to be Lykke Li’s ‘Possibility’. Without the distraction of dialogue, and few accompaniments, her vocals are alluring, yet strangely distant, mimicking the viewer’s morbid fascination as Bella’s depression is documented. It was incredibly poignant. Be prepared for Lykke Li to make waves.

The underlying score was rather overdramatic to anyone who has already read the books, and in places it drowns out what would otherwise be enjoyable scenes. The soundtrack on the other hand, lives up to the expectations of Twi-hards, telling the story well, whilst entertaining casual passers-by – a rarity. Well worth investigating for fans of some of the bigger names on the track list. A must buy for any follower of the Twilight saga. There is no filler.

With emotional teenage girls having barely been shepherded out of cinemas across the UK following the first Twilight film comes sequel New Moon, and boy has new director Chris Weitz pulled out all the stops to wrench heartstrings to breaking point.

Bella (Kristen Stewart) is back in Forks with boyfriend Edward who is still trying to balance displaying his affection for the love of his life whilst trying not to kill her on account of him being a vampire and very much desiring to consume her blood and all. Tough call. Too tough in fact as Edward (Robert Pattinson) panics and scarpers to Italy and leaves Bella to get on with her life, something she is very very unwilling to do. Fortunately local beefcake Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is on hand to keep Bella company, that is until he somewhat inexplicably is compelled to become a werewolf, along with his macho pals. Cue ancient vampire werewolf rivalries reignited, though fortunately Bella becomes too busy trying to save a misinformed Edward from killing himself in Italy to appreciate what is happening.

Sound ridiculous? Or stomach churningly smulchy? It should do, and we haven’t even touched on the offensiveness of how Bella cannot move without necessitating saviour from a man with his shirt off, or the underlying Mormon principles which dominate the series, as Helen has explained above. Focusing on the film however there are serious flaws beyond the script. The intense stares and lingering shots which complimented Twilight’s focus on the innocence and novelty of a vampire and human falling in love are hopelessly overwrought in New Moon, which when stretched over 130 minutes leaves the pace excruciatingly slow. Robert Pattinson seems to have regressed even further into moody poses and facial twitches which makes his acting far more comical than intended. Oh and there are Labrador puppies more terrifying than the farcically lame CGI werewolves.

With all the hype over Robert Pattinson’s cheekbones and Taylor Lautner’s abs it is sometimes forgotten that the dominant character in the whole series is Bella, and fortunately the saving grace for this film is Kristen Stewart, who not only outshines the rest of her young acting contemporaries with her understated but powerful performance but miraculously gives an heir of dignity to her character which both the author and director seem so keen to remove.  It is also obvious that New Moon is not aiming for cinematic credibility but is aimed directly at the fans which have made Twilight such a success, where lingering shots are welcomed and subverse narrative subtexts gladly ignored. Suspend your prejudices and you will find an immensely enjoyable film here, with genuinely comic and touching moments. Plus Michael Sheen as a pantomime head vampire. As all films should have.