Varèse Sarabande Records release the original soundtrack to The Homesman, composed by Marco Beltrami. When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat...

Marco Beltrami's score for The Homesman contains 21 tracks (45 min, 34 sec). While there are plenty of interesting themes, Beltrami has managed to deliver a score that is quite unlike any you'll have heard before. It's atmospheric... but an atmospheric score that you can actually listen to outside of the confines of the movie.

It also steers well clear of all the cliches of the time period. Where other composers would have leaned on well-worn motifs, Beltrami looks for something different. The end result is a beautiful collection of tracks that capture the essence of the film perfectly.

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Darren Rea