What You Need to Know: I like Mychael Danna and his work, normally. However, he has a tendency to stray toward convention a bit too often for my tastes. This can also be said for his score to,
The Time Traveler's Wife.
Through and through, this is a nondescript score that travels from one conventional motif to another, never fully pulling the listener into it. That said, it also plays capably to the point that much of it works in the film without drawing undue attention to itself. Thus, it lands in a middle ground where I was neither moved or completely turned off to the music. It simply, "was."
The biggest mistake, if you want to call it one, is that the themes for this score fail to bring out a personal touch. And for that matter, it also falls short in representing the romantic mystery of the time traveling concept that the premise relies on. Here, there is ample ground for the soundtrack to venture into unique and compelling territories but it never becomes unglued from the conservative approach that Danna guides the music in. It's a romantic score that is content to tack itself to the background and service the film's basic needs.
There is a sense of elegance about The Time Traveler's Wife, no doubt about it. And, if you enjoy a pristine, orchestral experience that can function simply as light, meandering background music, than I know you will enjoy this soundtrack more than I. But, as a fan who knows that more could have been had from this, I leave disappointed in this effort and feel that this is a Danna score that you can pass on. He has certainly done better.
