December sees the end of 2022, and one of the biggest, most anticipated scores of the year – Avatar: The Way of Water, with longtime James Horner collaborator Simon Franglen stepping in to take over. Does Franglen succeed? Read on to find out. Of course, there are a number of other great scores released this month, some of which I cover in-depth and some simply by name. Unfortunately, I’m still woefully behind, but one of these I’ll catch up on these posts, so they aren’t months behind. But in honest disclosure, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Till then, enjoy the time warp. As always, if you think I’ve missed any scores from this month (or any past months), leave a comment or get in touch and I’ll check them out!
Once again there were (as always) too many scores released this month for me to me to cover! Make sure to scroll to the end of this article for a list of even more December scores to check out!
Have a quick read about each of these excellent scores below then give them a listen. Be sure to see what other scores you may have missed by reading past editions of this column or listen below to hear me discuss a few of these and other scores released in October, November, and December:
Corsage – Camille
The first score I’ll cover doesn’t really count, but I got so obsessed with it when it released that I can’t help myself. French musician Camille Dalmais (aka Camille) contributed the song “She Was” to the historical drama Corsage. But December sees not just a release of that track, but also four variants as well, including an instrumental movie cut, an acoustic version, and a tuba and reverb heavy version. Fifteen minutes, five songs, all effectively variants on the same thing. And yet, when it released I listened to it back-to-back-to-back. Why? It’s a belting, powerful, sorrowful rumination about a woman’s life and ponderance as to what her child’s life may be. At once Camille mourns the past and societal shackles, while also reveling in strength. If I could pick a favorite track from any film in 2022, this would be it.
Avatar: The Way of Water – Simon Franglen
Ever since James Horner’s passing in 2015, we’ve wondered who would take the reins of scoring the next Avatar and whether they’d be up for the task. When Simon Franglen was announced as the composer for Avatar: The Way of Water, I was optimistic. After all, Franglen had worked with Horner for years and even scored the Disney attraction Pandora – The World of Avatar. Hearing his score for Notre-Dame brûle fully sold me. It’s easy to see why Avatar: The Way of Water ended up among many people’s favorite scores of the year. Franglen deftly utilizes and expands Horner’s original themes, while crafting his own that fit neatly within the Avatar sonic world. Franglen balances the big, exciting moments crucial for an action blockbuster like this with delicate, emotive moments that you don’t normally get, further helping elevate director Jim Cameron’s triumph.
The Whale – Rob Simonsen
Another water-themed score (if largely metaphorically) is Rob Simonsen’s The Whale. Simonsen often uses somber tones to underline the emotional tide in director Darren Aronofsky’s melodrama. In fact, Simonsen’s score often keeps the film afloat, heightening drama or melancholy that, without music, would almost certainly sink. In that way it reminds me of Clint Mansell’s Rebecca, another score on which its film was fatally dependent (and, coincidentally, is another water-themed film…). The recording and mixing of Simonsen’s score has noticeable, but subtle, nautical elements, particularly the gentle comfort of rolling waves, some of which seem overt and some of which seem like auditory illusions. Perhaps the choice is a bit on the nose, but it’s also incredibly unusual, making the piece particularly distinct and imbuing it with greater depths.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Alexandre Desplat
While Alexandre Desplat unfortunately recently dropped out of Barbie, a strange pairing that I was immensely looking forward to, we still have his wonderful score to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. The world of Pinocchio comes to life in Desplat’s score, effortlessly conjuring a fantasy realm; it’s adventurous, invigorating, with lingering darkness and youthful naivete. Desplat also fills his score with thematic material. The main theme dances in the wind: sometimes that wind is gentle and joyous, sometimes it’s a raging storm in Pinocchio’s darkest moments. Although it’s quite an earworm, Desplat manages to seamlessly recycle it through tempo and orchestration changes that avoid it becoming stale. Beyond the main theme, the film features a number of songs that Desplat also wrote, which are performed diegetically throughout the film. Desplat scatters these motifs throughout the score, with each rendition drawing parallels to the song and its lyrics. More than anything, though, the score has an intrinsic, timeless magic.
A Few More Scores
As often happens, there were simply too many great scores released in December to cover, so here are a few more:
- Causeway – Alex Somers
- La Piel del Tambor – Roque Banos
- Night of the Tommyknockers – Scott Glasgow
- A Wounded Fawn – Vaaal
- Babylon – Justin Hurwitz
- Bardo – Bryce Dessner
- Emancipation – Marcelo Zarvos (Interview)
- The Claus Family 3 – Anne-Kathrin Dern (Interview)
- Empire of Light – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Kanun – Severin Favriau
- Mad Heidi – Mario Batkovic
- 5000 Blankets – Panu Aaltio
- The Apology – Uele Lamore
- Ernest et Celestine: Le voyage en Charabie – Vincent Courtois
- Modelo 77 – Julio de la Rosa
- War Sailor – Volker Bertelmann (Interview)
- The Pale Blue Eye – Howard Shore
- The Antares Paradox – Arnau Bataller
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Isobel Waller-Bridge
- Women Talking – Hildur Guðnadóttir
- Beauford – strsgn
- Aurora’s Sunrise – Christine Aufderhaar
- Kagefabrikken – Karen Krogshoj and Jonas Struck
- A Night at the Kindergarten – Tymoteusz Witczak
- UFO Sweden – Oskar Sollenberg and Gustaf Spetz
- Zero One Zero – Levi Miah/Coeur
