About the Soundtrack: The score for
Moon was composed by
Clint Mansell, who seems to have a propensity of writing music for lone men in other-worldly situations (e.g.,
The Fountain). Though I kid, there is a slight parallel to the two films. For
Moon, Mansell created a hybrid score, a merging of atmospheric music and identifiable themes, as the backdrop for Director Duncan Jones' hard science-fiction movie. The soundtrack has 12 tracks on it, the last of which makes the running time respectable since it spans over 10 minutes in length.
What You Need to Know: I think the world of Clint Mansell's talent. I absolutely dug his scores for Sahara and
The Fountain, each of which offered differing melodic approaches that stuck with me. He made an impact on those scores. With
Moon, he also left an impression on me, the only problem is, it wasn't as complete as the two scores I mentioned. In fact, I think a listener can easily capture the full experience of the
Moon soundtrack by simply listening to a suite from it.
Moon offers two themes. One is an isolated piano theme that is simple but effective. It serves as the main identifier of the character and his lunar habitat. I feel its simplicity represents the loneliness of the predicament quite well and also offers a slice of mystery to it. The second theme is grounded more in the humanity of the character and his family. It swells dramatically, intended to bring out the emotional component (which it succeeds at doing). Aside from these two notables, there is also another nice touch included on this score and that is the motif that is heard to represent the secrets of the underground chamber on the Moon's station. Its sort of an odd, creepy lullaby that is perhaps the most ingenious moment on the album.
So, there is a sound tri-fecta of themes/motifs heard in Moon, but there is a problem of repetition with them. While the motif in track 11 is heard but once (only during that scene), the other themes sort of recycle throughout. It seemed as though the timing was such that we'd hear the Moon theme, be treated to a taste of human drama with the next theme, and then dive right into the ambience that the atmospheric side of the score offers. Then it would start all over again.
I'd have to say that I am disappointed in the overall impression that the soundtrack has left on me. Though I don't argue that there is a solid foundation and a nifty thematic identifier for Moon, there is just not enough space for the score to open up further. I think if there was a bit more imagination attached to the underscore and a higher degree of variation with the themes, than this would have been the Mansell score that I could have docked alongside my favorites from him.
