Mark Isham's score for the Depression-era gangster drama Billy Bathgate pays little heed to the film's period setting, embracing contemporary electronics as well as more traditional orchestral signatures that converge to create a dark, menacing atmosphere well matched to the picture's street-smart milieu. While
Isham's more action-oriented cues fall flat, his mastery of mood remains unmatched, and to its credit
Billy Bathgate boasts an uncommonly strong sense conceptual unity and consistency -- its textural palette is a bit narrow, but its convincing evocations of danger and suspense win out.