For many, the passing of the Twilight franchise on film (for now anyway) will be something of a relief, if not a cause for celebration. Yet for this sad little loser, it was an emotional affair. I may not have the excuse of having grown up with the books, but I do remember the series being the first one in a long time that I really loved, precisely because it was so improbable and silly. I was weaned on the outrageously awful Australian soap opera Home and Away as a child, so when my brain saw something with just as much melodrama and co-dependency – only now with added vampires – it leaped on sight. Breaking Dawn Part 2 is a full-on rollercoaster of emotions, barely recognisable as a Twilight movie for all the flourishes and spectacle it offers. It’s certainly the best in the series and improves a multitude on the first part, completing the saga in style. However, perhaps ironically, it missteps in the one area in which the other films had always effortlessly excelled. The movie’s soundtrack is something of a poor fit. It’s not bad as a standalone album, but quite misjudged and out of place with much of the film’s events. The key issue lies in the tone of the songs – many seem entirely out of place and do very little to evoke the happenings onscreen.

This problem is evidenced by the first three songs – “Where I Come From,” “Bittersweet,” and “The Forgotten,” courtesy of Passion Pit, Ellie Goulding, and Green Day respectively. They’re not bad songs – well, the first two aren’t (a moment’s silence for the Green Day of yesteryear) – but they are patently unsuitable in the context of the film and sound lacklustre and uninviting as a result. It’s a foreseeable marketing gimmick but a poor opening, particularly in light of how well-judged and befitting the music for the first film was. St. Vincent’s “The Antidote” is an excellent splash of life and fits perfectly with the scene in which it’s used, but it too seems somewhat adrift alongside the other songs.

The soundtrack fares much better when it seeks to underline the newfound burdens and fragmented emotions with which Bella must grapple in her guise as both vampire and mother. The soundtrack to Part 1 worked beautifully in its evocation of Bella’s lonely plight, and when Part 2 finds a way to do the same, it comes into its own. “Everything & Nothing” by the Boom Circuits is an atmospheric electronic sprawl that perfectly captures the sense of joy and completion shared by the leads in Bella’s reborn form. “Heart of Stone” by IKO contrasts this with an exquisite rendering of the accompanying doubts and uncertainties. Hushed and cold and fragile, it sums up the isolation of her position and her sense of responsibility as she seeks a way to keep her family safe. The chorus is particularly lovely, with a cascading volley of piano notes evoking a sense of purpose and resolve and linking the song quite neatly with Imperial Mammoth’s “Requiem on Water” from Part 1. “Ghosts” by James Vincent McMorrow provides an eerier accompaniment to some of these darker moments. The song is poignant but captivating – there’s a sort of wispy romanticism buried amidst the tender instruments and ghostly vocals. The air of introspection and soul-searching fits well with the franchise and the track comes cloaked in gradually enveloping warmth, almost like a dare to believe in a happy ending.

However, just as the film’s ending is its highlight (and don’t be one of those silly people who don’t realise that the ending is different from the book; if you’ve read it, you’ve no idea what the film has in store for you), so the album doesn’t truly excel until its final moments. “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri is the same song that featured on the soundtrack to Part 1, but here it has a doubly charged meaning. Now that everything has been resolved, the sweet, pleading words of the song seem more heartfelt and soothing than ever. Its sentiments are real, simplistic but sincere, and its tentative, exposed sound makes it a worthy and uplifting ode for the end credits. It’s OK if there were some tears. I always cry at endings. “Plus Que Ma Propre Vie” by Carter Burwell is an instrumental that combines various pieces and cues from the Twilight themes thus far. It is a little scrappy, in that it isn’t one ongoing piece of music but rather a haphazard intercutting of themes. These might have worked better as short, individual pieces, though for sentimental value their grace and beauty certainly can’t be challenged.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 is a towering conclusion for the Twilight saga, but its soundtrack is uneven. It offers none of the same intensity as its predecessor and actually lets its better songs down by intercutting them with the more poorly-chosen or uninteresting ones. In short, it’s not one for getting swept up in, but given the film for once represents the better half of the package it’s right on trend.

2012 has been a year for climaxes and endings – the staggering conclusion to Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy set an early, valedictory tone; while The Avengers represented a glowing pinnacle of achievement. I may be the only person here at UTG sad to see the back of this franchise, but it is an ending nonetheless, and one that’ll leave the faithful feeling a tad bereft. A toast to you, Ms. Meyer. At least until someone finally gives Anne Rice’s crew a screen outing worth shouting about.

Written by Grace Duffy

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Grace Duffy

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