Warning: SPOILERS lay within.

For our first entry in our new Music In Film series I thought why not highlight what is probably my favourite film score of all time? Composed by the great duo of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis – who also did The Proposition and The Road – the score for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward of Robert Ford is a masterclass in setting tone, perfectly encapsulating and emulating the somber, sad and ponderous nature of the film.

Writer/director Andrew Dominik certainly takes his time telling this tale – the film is not only over 150 minutes long but is slow-paced to boot – but the stunning visuals (each frame could be put up on display on your living room wall) and phenomenal performances keep things fascinating. But it’s the score by Cave and Ellis which gives Jesse James its “soft edge,” its enveloping tone, its magical atmosphere.

There are 14 tracks on the soundtrack (19 on the special edition) and Cave and Ellis manage to make each track distinctive and uniquely evocative in their own right but still clearly part of the same overall package. A lot of scores have one overall musical motif that’s basically repeated throughout each track so in that way this score is quite unique.

I love each track in their own way but I’ve decided on five I want to highlight in particular. First up is “Rather Lovely Thing,” the opening track of the soundtrack (even though it’s not the first one we hear in the actual movie):

Next up we have “Song For Jesse,” perhaps my favorite of the whole soundtrack. “Magical” is the first word that comes to mind when I hear it:

The third I’ve chosen to highlight is “Falling,” which manages to be both wistful and grand:

Next we have “What Must Be Done,” the track which plays leading up to the deadly deed of the title. I get a lump in my throat just listening to it:

Last up we have “Song For Bob,” the last track we hear before the closing credits, playing in the final moments of the film when Jesse James’ assassin, Robert Ford, is gunned down in his saloon by a disgruntled admirer of Jesse’s (although we never actually see it happen). A perfect track to end on:

What are some of your favorite tracks from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford score?