What stood out the most about Alexandre Desplat’s score for The Shape Of Water?
By Ryan Mekkes
The Academy has spoken, and Alexandre Desplat has won an Oscar for Music (Original Score) due to his incredible composition for The Shape Of Water. But what stood out the most about his work? — Spoilers for The Shape Of Water ahead.
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In short, the whole piece was brilliant, as the French composer did an excellent job of weaving an intricate story together into one beautiful mosaic. His masterpiece set the tone for the entire movie, as his melodies ushered us into the plot. So the whole score deserved the credit it received.
But there were a few factors that truly set it apart — namely, its ability to develop characters, and its ability to aid the visuals in presenting some of the most breathtaking moments ever to be brought to the screen. This movie was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and the score was fittingly unique.
Here are the five places where Desplat’s music made some its biggest impact on the film.
1. Elisa’s theme
Composers often give their movie’s main character a theme — a musical melody that fits them and attempts to encompass who they are, as much as possible. This theme generally follows the character throughout the entirety of the movie. And it’s not exaggerative to say that Elisa’s was one of the best to have ever been written… and it needed to be.
Her theme was heavily relied upon for much of her character development since, as those who have seen the movie know, she wasn’t able to speak but instead used sign language. Its beautiful melodies allowed us to easier get to know the innocent, kind, strong, sweet-hearted main character who had overcome adversity and remained true to herself in spite of having experienced hardship in her life.
Every instrument conveyed a different aspect of her beautiful personality. The progressions between major and minor chords revealed a sense of sorrow that contrasted her joy, the strings below it all showcased her strength, and the melodies of the woodwinds and the occasional button box, sealed it all to paint a picture of a kind person who warms our hearts with her presence.
2. Incredible sound/musical teamwork
So crucial to the successful delivery of the big moments of any movie, is that the sound works well with the music. And while The Shape Of Water houses a complete showcase of such congruency, the twenty-four-minute mark was where we heard some of the most impressive teamwork between the two.
In this scene, Elisa goes to visit the creature while he is chained in a pool. Upon her arrival, she offers him food, as he slowly stands up from his hiding place in the water to meet her.
The challenge of this scene, audio-wise, was a result of the fact that many of the creature’s noises were in a similar low-frequency range to those of the bassy, suspenseful, notes of the music (creating the possibility for muddled tones). In spite of this challenge, however, Desplat and the sound effects crew were able to work together and around each other to forge a beautiful and intense moment that worked perfectly.
This became one of the most pivotal parts of the Best Picture-winning movie. Of course, the realistic visual appearance of the creature didn’t hurt either, so kudos to the costume team, the makeup team, and the visual effects team as well — but that sound was just jaw-dropping.
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3. The standoff
Perhaps the most meaningful moment in the movie, especially considering the current and hopefully never-ending movement against the atrocity of sexual harassment/abuse, was when Elisa, who had experienced this type of awful treatment from her boss, stood up to him when he questioned her about the disappearance of the creature. In a flawless and gritty performance by Sally Hawkins, an hour and fourteen minutes into the movie, she stood steel-faced in front of the coward, and it was a performance for the books.
Alexandre Desplat backed that scene with possibly the best musical segment of the entire film. It appeared that everyone involved with this movie understood the significance of that scene, and as such, put forward their strongest possible effort to make a point. And make a point, they did.
The driving track for that scene hits hard, feeding off of actress Sally Hawkins’ intensity — it is a declaration of war. And unlike much of the rest of the mostly classical score, this part had a more modern sound — an intense, rhythmic tone, completely fitting for the part. The composer adapted seamlessly to the moment, and we won’t soon forget it.
4. Dimitri’s meeting
Another strong musical showing was found following the interrogation of Dr. Hoffstetler (or Dimitri — his non-spy name) during the planning meeting for his extraction, an hour and twenty-six minutes into the film. The strings section starred in this scene, as the long, deep notes, combined with the subtle tinkering of a harp, set the tone for the extremely on-edge moment.
It wasn’t staccato, like Elisa’s standoff music, mentioned above. Instead, it droned, and left us with an eerie sense that something terrible was about to happen. It was the perfect choice for that point in the film.
Moments like these brought the composition full-circle, as Alexandre Desplat showed an ability to create not only innocent, lighthearted backing for the film, but stress-filled music as well. It was a complete work from the beginning to the end.
5. The final scene
Desplat’s greatest strength, throughout this score, was his ability to create a memorable moment whenever needed, and his final melodies at the very end of the movie were no exception. The serene version of Elisa’s theme, played on the soft notes of a piano, provided the perfect backdrop for the end of the movie. It was gentle; but most importantly, it resolved the story.
The way Desplat wrote it communicated that after a lifetime of struggle, she was going to be alright; you leave the movie with a sense of peace, and closure. This isn’t something that just happens. Songs like this only come from composers who truly understand music and how it relates to human emotion.
And needless to say, Desplat is one of them. He knows exactly how to get the message of a story across in a way that resonates with people. So when The Shape Of Water ended, his gentle melody communicated more than words ever could.
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Driving the story forward
All in all, Alexandre Desplat stayed out of the spotlight for this job. His composition showed humility, and a desire to enhance the plot in any way possible. Sure, he had his share of bigger moments; but the success of this composition was a result of his commitment to the story, so he largely avoided show-off musical moments.
He revealed this in an interview with Deadline, saying:
"If I would have started the opening scene, underwater, with a full orchestra blasting out and playing the theme— with all the strings and the brass—it would have killed the film. I would have had nowhere to go. So, it’s a matter of sculpting the music and making it take the shape of the storyline.”"
On the 4th of March, 2018, he received the recognition that he deserved in the form of a glittery Oscar trophy — his second for Original Score, as he won his first in 2015 for composing the music for The Grand Budapest Hotel. And he could very well add to that number in the future. Competition is stiff in those circles, but he has proven to be one of the world’s best at what he does.
The Shape Of Water earned four Oscars in total, including:
Directing
Best Picture
Production Design
Music (Original Score)