Best Contribution to 2010: Alexandre Desplat

I had some trouble thinking of the man/woman who I believe gave the biggest contribution to the film industry this year, because Leonardo DiCaprio is the automatic first choice for most. He had two films on his resume for this year, one of which is up for best picture this year. On the other hand, Shutter Island was originally intended for release last year. It's a great film, but the only reason it's part of this year at all is because Paramount Pictures didn't want to spend money on an Oscar campaign. Also worth mentioning is Jeff Bridges, who legitimately had two films this year, TRON: Legacy and True Grit, both of which were awesomely entertaining on their own levels. However, the person who I personally believe did the most for this year was composer Alexandre Desplat. I've dedicated several posts simply to praise him, because his work this year has been substantial. His least successful work of the year was his score for Tamara Drewe, which seemed to come and go rather quickly in a narrow part of the year.

Everything else that he has done this year has been absolutely phenomenal. Perhaps his standout performance of the group is his work on The Ghost Writer, which had a very unique feel and quality to it. It had the typical waltz structure to certain segments, while piling on a mysterious undertone to it all. It's definitely the score I'd play on my iPod while jogging, if I ever owned an iPod, or if I ever jogged. The score he is getting the most Oscar attention for is his work on The King's Speech, which I think to be the wrong choice. Don't get me wrong, because I love his score for the film. The problem is that he's done a very similar thing before for The Queen. It's a little too similar if you ask me, but it is quality work to put on his resume.

If I were ever to place a score for contention in the grand race, it would be his score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It can't be overstated that this is a grand achievement for the artist, because he's been painted in a negative light by some mainstream viewers. They complain that his scores take on too much of a typical waltz structure, and therefore don't really work in a thematic way. His score for the latest Potter installment threw that out of the water. His score for the film worked to register everything in something epic and emotional. There were some initial complaints about there not being enough of John Williams' Hedwig's Theme, but the absence was barely noticeable when seeing it in the theater. Even if Desplat doesn't get a nomination for this one this year, he'll have another shot next year with Deathly Hallow: Part 2, not to mention The Tree of Life. He gives the greatest contribution to any year of film, and that's what puts him amongst the greatest modern composers. Well, that and the fact that everything he does just so happens to be awesome.