What You Need to Know: To truly enjoy the score for
The Road, I have to recommend that you see the film first as a pre-requisite. While I normally don't suggest that soundtrack listeners should have to typically follow this path, it's pretty much essential for the enjoyment of this album. And don't worry -- there is a payoff.
On the surface, this isn't typically the type of soundtrack experience I normally enjoy. Crafted more as an underscore that is meant to heighten both tense and personal moments alike, this soundtrack may not have been as well received by me had I not seen (and been moved by) the film. I have an entirely different opinion of the score on this side of the fence, and it's positive to be sure.
Cave and Ellis have composed a rather memorable score here. No, there isn't any large orchestral themes at play nor is there the sci-fi inspirations that some genre fans might expect. Instead, there is an meld of beauty and sadness in the score's softer components while dread and primal fear stake their claim in the album's darker side. The composers had an intuitive feel about the type of score this movie needed and they delivered it right on the money. In fact, the music is part of the very fabric of the movie's functionality, lending a natural, earnest feel to it.
The musical theme that stuck with me most after seeing the film is the cue from the opening scene, which is heard as the main character describes the unforgiving damage that has occurred on earth. This cue, in connection with this opening sequence, will put you in a grieving mood because it all feels so real and honest. One can imagine an alternate existence where these words were spoken and this type of music was heard. I suppose that's the punch to the gut that makes it all stand out for me.
In the movie, there is an ever looming threat of being captured by a pack of cannibals that roam the lands. This raw terror is driven further home by the moments in which the music takes its most frightening turns. Unlike the generic horror movie scores that come and go, excerpts from The Road will send a chill up your spine with its unsettling nature. It's been quite some time since I was moved in this way by a score.
