Jungle
The Immitation Game: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Immitation Game

(Alexandre Desplat)
Label(s): 
Release Date: 
Monday, November 24, 2014
Grade:
B
Tracks: 
21

Composer Alexandre Desplat has been nominated for 2 Grammy's, 5 Academy Awards, and six Golden Globes during his career as a composer. Now you might say that being nominated is not winning but in the world of Hollywood where there are thousands of films being made each year that all have their own soundtrack, getting picked as one of the best is still a huge achievement. To do it as many times as Alexandre Desplat has shows that he is a composer that shouldn't be taken lightly.  His background in movie soundtracks include such hits as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” Parts 1 & 2, “The Monuments Men”,  “Argo”, and many others. Adding to his list of soundtracks, Alexandre Desplat composed the songs used for the film, “The Imitation Game” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.
Alright, now you know the background to Mr. Alexandre Desplat, let me talk about what I thought about the soundtrack to the movie, “The Imitation Game”.  I've reviewed many soundtracks over the years and usually it's from movies I've already seen or haven't seen but this is the first time that I have had to review a soundtrack for a movie that I will eventually see. Instead of already knowing the scenes the songs are playing for or never knowing, I will have an idea of the music before going into the movie. My first impression of the music was that it's subtle and timid but composed very well.
I listened to this album twice in a row where for the first time I didn't know what the tracks to the songs where, I just listened to them play out on the speakers. On the second time I read the tracks with each song that played and was able to connect the songs to the emotions that they are playing for. Track 1 is the opening theme that sets the mood for the whole album with easy rhythms and subtle tones. One thing about this music is that it never really explodes with intense beats or makes me believe the scenes are going to be intense. What I get from this music is that the movie will also be subtle and calm with a lot of thinking and emotions. The Imitation Game is a decent soundtrack, not great, it don't get me excited and the energy levels are low, but I did hear some catchy beats being played. I could hum along to some of the songs and I did enjoy the way they where composed, it's just that they don't pop. For me though the biggest problem is that the songs are too short. There's one song that's 4 minutes long, another that's 3, 7 that go above 2 and half minutes, but the rest are all under 2 and half minutes. That's half the album considering it's a 21 track album. For so many tracks this soundtrack plays really fast but it plays well.

Lee Roberts
Review by Lee Roberts
Follow him @ Twitter
Friend him @ Facebook