A Very Long Engagement

Album Review

The original score to A Very Long Engagement, the Jean-Pierre Jeunet vehicle for actress Audrey Tatou, was written and conducted by Angelo Badalamenti, infamously inseparable from the nightmarish big-budget cinema of David Lynch. While atmospherics play a role in this score — mainly on the cues "Heartbeat to a Touch" and "Mathilde's Theme" — most of what's on offer here is the lush aspect of Badalamenti's writing: tightly controlled yet swirling strings; a generous sense of space; and, above all, an uncomplicated if sideways approach to illustrating the frame. The brooding opening theme, the taut moments of "Our Soldier's Letters," and the gorgeous oboe, strings, and harp interlude in "Kissing Through Glass" make this a truly enjoyable, if undramatic, score. While it may provide some engaging listening on its own, this does not feel or sound like a body of music that can be taken as a separate work from the film it illustrates.