The Queen (Music from the Motion Picture)

iTunes Review

Director Stephen Frears' exploration of the often nettlesome private relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Tony Blair in the wake of Princess Diana's death posed more than a few challenges for French film scorer Alexandre Desplat. Like the film itself, the composer's music here concerns itself less with pomp than the considerable circumstances of its characters, showcasing both his trademark tasteful restraint and a muse more interested in graceful personal introspection than the trappings of power. Desplat is a minimalist in the old-fashioned sense of the word, one whose less-is-more sensibility has moved beyond French cinema (where he's been a fixture for nearly two decades) to musically shade the complex Syriana in subtle ways, garner a Golden Globe for The Painted Veil, and receive his first Academy Award nomination for his refined contributions here.