What's immediately striking about
The Saint of Fort Washington is its simplicity -- such a virtue is quite rare in this age of the modern Hollywood soundtrack, and certainly
James Newton Howard is no stranger to sledgehammer dramatics, but his work here boasts a sophistication and focus absent from previous efforts.
Howard's newfound grasp of mood and texture resonates throughout
The Saint of Fort Washington, with its melancholic muted trumpet and evocative strings -- to its credit, it rarely feels like a motion picture score, yet it fits beautifully within the context of the onscreen narrative. Listeners who appreciate the understated craft of better-known
Howard efforts like
The Sixth Sense would be wise to seek out this rare, under-recognized score. ~ Jason Ankeny