7. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Andrew Dominik's slow-burning, unambiguous Western is a rare beast, as stimulating as it is melancholy. It ticks through its inevitable plot without feeling compelled to reach its climax, choosing instead to spend long periods lingering on its manic-depressive protagonist gazing meditatively across a barley field or the passing of a shadow across a room. The only tool Dominik has with which to fill these moments of reflectivity is Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' haunting score. It is an atmospheric collaboration that does for this unique western what Ennio Morricone did for Leone's spaghettis of the sixties; offer a score illustrative of the film's tone. There's an understanding here of genre but also of character and Cave's score changes when the narrative is focused on either Pitt's Jesse James or Casey Affleck's Bob Ford. This is most apparent in the diverging moods of 'A Song For Jesse' and 'A Song For Bob'; the former, sharp and intimidating but with a dreamlike quality where the latter projects the sorrow and loneliness also present in its titular antagonist. Other classic, more cinematic elements of the score, include the ominous 'Money Train'. These more orchestral pieces serve to amplify the small, intense bursts of action when they eventually arrive, driving the film to moments of complete crescendo before falling back once again, to its ethereal bells and folksy guitar chords.
