Top 5 Film Scores: Since The Millennium

Filmmaking has changed considerably since the millennial year; and quite obviously in film music. 2000 marked a shift in how film music was written and perceived, moving from a world divided as lo-fi electronica or evenly arranged orchestra into a palette of sound breaking free of conventional boundaries – where synthetic and orchestral sound intertwine and cinematic music birthed an exclusive identity. In light of that, I’ve penned my top five post-millennium scores, showcasing great music and soundtracks that have impacted on how films are scored thereafter.

1. Cloud Atlas (2012) (Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek)

Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra

Snubbed at the Oscars somewhat: Cloud Atlas is probably the best film of the last two years, let alone the best soundtrack. It spans a huge stylistic variety, including lonely and moving piano melodies, fully synthetic glimpses into the future and a breathtaking Schumann-Elgar-esque tone poem – timeless and stirring. Those melodies are revisited in a dozen musical styles that give the film the backbone it needs to link its numerous stories together in a profound way. An absolute must watch.  

2. The Social Network (2010) (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

Hand Covers Bruise

Totally deserving of the academy award for best soundtrack, Reznor and Ross’ score for The Social Network is a portrait of internal struggle and geek-dom. The opening piano cue sits on a fuzz of granular noise that imparts the vibe of the film instantaneously, and the following nerdy electronic pieces give striking clarity to Zuckerberg’s machinations while maintaining a production standard associated with chart-topping tunes. A positive step forward for film music.


3. Casino Royale (2006) (David Arnold)

Miami International

How do you compose something ‘new’ when the original music is as widely appreciated as John Barry’s material? The key is in the ‘new’: Bond opens the film without double-0 status and the music echoes with a new melody and hybrid take on the orchestral sound of Bond, adding techy percussion and synthetic drive. The music gives Bond a serious motive during espionage and a cold, calculated brain by swapping flair for a tension so well constructed that you don’t realize the 12 minutes of continuous music underneath the quandary at Miami International Airport. Probably the best film cue ever recorded, here.


4. Norwegian Wood (2010) (Jonny Greenwood)

Mou sukoshi jibun no koto, kichinto shitai no

Most people will know Jonny Greenwood as the guitarist from Radiohead and be unaware that he’s one of the modern day’s jewels of concert and film composition. His scores for The Master and There Will Be Blood are one-of-a-kind, but the Japanese novel adaptation of Norwegian Wood truly stands out as an unparalleled example of modern film music. It’s as delicate and warming as it is mournful and painful – honestly, there is no better musical description of pain. An eye-opening listen.


5. Gladiator (2000) (Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard)

Elysium

The score to Gladiator had an unthinkably huge impact on how film music has since been written and on what directors/producers wanted their films to sound like. The music speaks for itself as an emotive and spicy counterpart to a gritty Rome, comprising of Lisa Gerrard’s incredibly passionate vocals, visceral orchestral battles, heroic salutes and dusty atmospheric concoctions of flavourful synth pads and solo performances. Worth the listen by itself: a keystone of modern film music.

It’s a shame that a top five, or list of any number for that matter, means that many other incredible and influential scores won’t be touched upon. I found it particularly difficult not to include Harry Gregson-Williams and David Buckley’s score to The Town (2010) and struggled not to mention another Oscar winner; Dario Marianelli’s Atonement (2007). Both scores use music in interesting ways while cementing new ground for a stylistic type of music unheard anywhere else except in film. The real shame, though, is that The Matrix (Don Davis) was released in 1999, because it would have taken undeniable pride of place at the top of this list as possibly the greatest film score in the last fifty years…

Alex