‘Angels Crest’, released in the UK as ‘Abandoned’, is a drama directed by Gaby Dellal and adapted from Leslie Schwartz’s novel of the same name. Set in a small working-class town in the Rocky Mountains, the film follows the aftermath of a devastating accident in which a young father, Ethan (Thomas Dekker), momentarily leaves his three-year-old son Nate sleeping in his truck during a winter trip. The boy wanders out and is later found dead in the snow. What follows is a story about grief, guilt and the fractures that open within a close-knit community as the local D.A. (Jeremy Piven) pursues negligent homicide charges. The ensemble cast includes Mira Sorvino, Elizabeth McGovern, Lynn Collins, Kate Walsh and Joseph Morgan, and the film premiered in the World Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011 before screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival later that year.

The Hollywood Reporter described the film as “sober and heartfelt” and noted the cast and crew’s evident investment in the story’s tragedy. Variety drew comparisons to Atom Egoyan’s ‘The Sweet Hereafter’, which similarly explored a community processing the loss of children against a snow-covered backdrop. Elizabeth McGovern’s performance was singled out as particularly moving, and reviewers praised the film’s cinematography and restrained approach to difficult subject matter.

About the score

The finished film carries a score by Stephen Warbeck, the Oscar-winning composer known for ‘Shakespeare in Love’. However, the project’s musical journey was more layered than that single credit suggests. I originally came on board as additional music programmer working alongside Theo Green, who was initially composing the score. During that period, I programmed and developed cues that contributed to the film’s emotional landscape, working with Theo to shape the sonic textures and folk-inspired musical material that sat beneath Dellal’s quiet, observational direction.

When the decision was made to bring in Stephen Warbeck to take over the score, the transition naturally meant a shift in the overall musical direction. However, a number of the cues I had programmed and developed during my work with Theo were retained in the final cut of the film.

Credits

• Network: Cinema & Digital (Prime)
• Director: Gaby Dellal
• Role: Additional Music Programmer

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