Composing Greatness: #4. Oscars 2019 Edition - "Isle of Dogs"

Scene from Isle of Dogs

Welcome to a very special edition of Composing Greatness. In this limited series, I will be looking at the five scores nominated for this year's Best Original Score category. To avoid favoritism, the list will be done in alphabetical order of composers and feature the same guidelines as the original series. This is meant to explore the music behind the great films of 2018, and provide insight into what makes each of them special and whether or not they deserved to be nominated at all. Join me all week as I listen to the  music, leave some thoughts, and hopefully sway you to check out these wonderful, wonderful scores.

Series Composer: Alexandre Desplat

Entry: Isle of Dogs (2018)

Collaborators (If Available): N/A

Nomination: Best Original Score

Other Nominees:
-BlacKkKlansman (Terence Blanchard)
-Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson)
-If Beale Street Could Talk (Nicholas Brittell)
-Mary Poppins Returns (Marc Shaiman)

Note: Listen to the score here.

Exploring the Music

The area of the column where I will explore the music in as much detail as I see fit for each entry.

What's So Great About It?

It seems to be written into the cinematic contract of Alexandre Desplat that he must submit one excellent score per year. He remains one of the most exciting composers of the 21st century and his latest collaboration with Wes Anderson has once again produced a fruitful result. With the film paying homage to Japanese classics, it makes sense that the ambiance would feel like you're thrown off the deep end into a Japanese score. It's very percussive and driven by a choir that is at points very hypnotic. Desplat's love of experimenting with style means that he never makes a dull choice on this album. Even the use of wind instruments, as vast as they are, produce interesting melodies throughout. It's another fun score from the master, and it's great to know that he's still got it.

What's So Bad About It?

What should be put into context with this score is that the best moments in the music actually come from other tracks. As much as Desplat adds atmosphere, it's hard not to admit that the most memorable songs are lifted from old Japanese films and every clever note that you're likely to hum along to is that way. Desplat is great, but this feels like a minor work, especially following an impressive run that's included the Oscar-winning score for The Shape of Water and the other Anderson film The Grand Budapest Hotel. The latter was a perfect embodiment of what he brings to scores and atmosphere while maintaining a singular tone. Isle of Dogs feels redundant by comparison in ways that hurt it. While the score itself is a good fit for what the film is, this feels like minor work of a genius that is blown out of proportion because of the other tracks that give the film a richer personality. Without Desplat's score, there's a good chance that the film could still survive and that's a bit of a bummer.

Did This Deserve an Oscar Nomination?:
No

While it's worth listening to, Desplat's work here isn't exemplary even by his standards. He's coming off of the brilliant work on The Shape of Water, and this may be one of his least interesting collaborations with Anderson. It does a lot with music that is fun and creates a singular sound, but it does feel like there could've been some other nominee slid in here that would create a nice diversity. The music works and proves that Desplat creates an atmosphere, but what honestly is he doing here that he didn't do better on The Grand Budapest Hotel? It's by no means a bad score, but just one that gets redundant and too familiar at points. If you're remembering anything about this film, it's likely the other music that Anderson is referencing. Trust me, you wish Desplat wrote it just so it justifies the nomination a bit more.

Up Next: Marc Shaiman - Mary Poppins Returns (2018) for Best Original Score

Rank the Nominees

1. Nicholas Brittell - If Beale Street Could Talk
2. Ludwig Goransson - Black Panther
3. Terence Blanchard - BlacKkKlansman
4. Alexandre Desplat - Isle of Dogs