Over the last several years, Alexandre Desplat has gone from being a relatively unknown (in the United States anyway) French composer to emerging as one of the most acclaimed and sought after commodities in the business today. Receiving his second Oscar nomination this year for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Desplat has continued to cement his place at the top of his field.
Despite the acclaim, however, he remains very close to his home in European cinema. “I have tried to keep as much of a relationship as I can with my French directors,” he says. “I always try to go to do two or three French movies a year. That’s a lot but I don’t want to lose that.”
While there are certainly exceptions, there is definitely a difference in the manner that French and American filmmakers approach their work, Desplat says. Being forced to think differently because of different filmmaking styles helps his creative resources. “It feeds me,” he says.
David Fincher’s “Button” posed unique challenges for Desplat. “It doesn’t have a linear storytelling,” he says. “It’s a complex puzzle and I’d ask myself, ‘How do you deal with this in music and deal with the main character when he is a passive character?’ It’s not easy to capture in music.”
Describing the film as a “sound epic,” Desplat notes that the music had to be strong without being overly dramatic or imposing. It was a crucial demand from Fincher that Desplat says he had to struggle with.
The composer has worked with some of the world’s top directors in recent years – Ang Lee, Stephen Frears, Jacques Audiard — but despite Fincher’s unique perspective in the wake of those talent helmers, Desplat says certain professional similarities smoothed the journey.
“He has an amazing quality as a collaborator,” Desplat says. “He’s very demanding but so am I so that’s fine. He’s very detailed but so am I, so that’s also fine. He wants his people to bring their own world, talents and colors into the film. I think that’s the sign of a great director. All the great directors I’ve worked with know that it is crucial that your creative energy is opened and not just restrained.”