Philomena

Philomena (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed by Alexandre Desplat to the 2013 film of the same name directed by Stephen Frears, released on 25 October 2013 through Decca Records. The score received positive response from critics, and led him a nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Score and Satellite Award for Best Original Score. Development Philomena marked Desplat's fourth collaboration with Stephen Frears, after The Queen (2006), Chéri (2009) and Tamara Drewe (2010). Desplat recalled that he loved the Italian comedy-dramas from the 1960s, particularly those directed by Ettore Scola, as it would have deep subjects treated with sense of humour, that makes them even stronger. The film had the duality as with Frears' previous films where the tragedy is strong, but also have a distant wit, adding "There’s this balance between drama and comedy. It’s always a better way of delivering a message, whether it’s political or social." Desplat found the film as "very difficult" to score as the real Philomena Lee (the character which the film is based on) is a woman of "great strength and dignity" and wanted to honor her as well as his on-screen character (played by Judi Dench in the film). So he wanted something simple in melody and in range to symbolize the feeling of restraint that comes across the film. He was specifically inspired by the fairground moment in her story, that served as the catalyst for the film. Praising Dench's performance, Desplat added that "She gives so much doing nothing that the music has to respect that. If [the music] plays, it has to be so subtle" while further adding that his score guided the audience "to open windows, emphasize things that you might feel even more, and sometimes just pull back, leave the actors alone and respect the dialogue."