Having said that, the titular opening cue introduces the rather low key and sober main theme; not one of Desplat's most indelible creations, but anything more would probably overplay the composer's hand. However, Desplat is not a composer to wallow and with Hills of Scotland the pace picks up a little, all the while reflecting the beautiful, rugged Highland landscape. Perhaps surprisingly, there are a number of rather jaunty cues; the two People's Princess tracks feature a skittish electronic bass line, chugging strings and the melody on harpsichord while A New Prime Minister almost feels more suitable for a light moment in a Jane Austen movie. Naturally, Mourning is actively sombre, but there is never any feeling that Desplat is about to launch into an Adagio for Strings style elegy, he keeps the string writing fluid, but resists the temptation to build to ever more melodramatic heights.
For better or worse, the score's only real outpouring of grief is the Libera Me from Verdi's Requiem, performed at Diana's funeral. It is, of course, a splendid musical epitaph, but in the context of the album seems a little ill at ease with Desplat's own music in both style and content. However, being at the end, it is easily omitted. The Queen is not Desplat at his most thematically striking, but the melodies do ultimately reveal themselves and are presented with the composer's always fine and delicate orchestration. Naturally, the London Symphony Orchestra play with distinction, not that this is the kind of music to tax a great orchestra, but just adds that final veneer of quality on another splendid offering.
Rating ~ Total Time ~ 44:20
Recently Alexandre Desplat has been widening his genre experience with some very fine thriller/action scores, notably Firewall and Hostage, but Desplat's most accomplished work is with more serious, dare I say, worthy films. The Queen is set in the days following the death of Princess Diana and the Royal Family's rather staid and cold reaction to what felt like a national tragedy, indeed, there seemed to be outpourings of grief far in excess of her achievement and unusually public for the British. However, Diana's death is merely the backdrop and, as such, the score is not just melancholy paean to a dead Princess, indeed, one is occasionally surprised how sprightly it is, albeit with Desplat's typically deft touch.
