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The style of the music in Roman J. Israel, Esq., while highly disparate in its three parts, still manages to function as a whole, as the instrumentation from each of those personalities does cross over. Some listeners may find the choral sequences too isolated from the rest, however. The ensemble for the work uses a restrained orchestra seemingly minus woodwind elements, layered with electric keyboard, acoustic guitars, string base, synths, traditional strings, and solo trumpet over deep brass tones at times. The synthetics vary between nondescript haze and metallic grinding noises, the latter highly obnoxious but in tune with the composer's typical methodology in this setting. These darker shades guide the late suspense and action without much melody, "To Make the Call" and "Guard! Guard!" both highly unpleasant experiences. One source-like diversion pushes retro jazzy innocence into "Maple Glazed Donut," though this material is similar enough in style to the blues cues to fit into the equation. The demeanor of the score alternates between reverence, muted drama, and muted coolness, the latter two only gaining warmth in the final cue as Israel's massive brief is filed. Howard does infuse the score with a couple of primary themes and some secondary exploration, but none of it will smack you across the face with its lyricism. His justice theme for Israel's pursuit of equality is the angelic choral theme of both the hope and tragedy that has an intentionally pure, religious quality to its appeal. It opens "Supreme Court of Absolute Universal Law" immediately on choir and previews the flashback material in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, building to a momentous, dissonant conclusion with increasingly striking percussion. Reduced to keyboarded hope with minimal support in "The Brief," the justice theme stews in fragments on light choral shades in "The Real Enemy Within" and emerges back to its original form on the full choir in "Roman's Judgment." It then tries to form its progressions in "Are You Okay Mister?" but fails against massive dissonance. In its moment of catharsis, the theme achieves its final, tonal resonance from choir in the first two minutes of "Filing the Brief."

A separate theme for the main character's quirky personality in Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a bluesy, descending identity for electronic keyboard, string bass and 1970's vibes heard with slight swagger in "Just Continuances" and building to a determined, solo trumpet rendition in that cue. This idea develops out of the pensive synthetic haze in "Roman Walks Home" and becomes ominous in the latter half of "Nonprofit Talks" on foreboding brass, worried on strings near the outset of "The Drop." Teasing at the start of "Roman's Judgment" on electric keyboarding before a very serious turn, the theme alternates between easy keyboards and solemn brass in "It's All in the Rearview Mirror." For its resolution, his identity returns to its blues roots for the later minutes of "Filing the Brief," a resounding brass and string performance of this theme clearly an overall highlight. The score ends with a friendly acoustic guitar rendition of the idea as the brief is shown filed at the court, but on screen, the music doesn't completely mesh well with the end credits song that follows. A marginal secondary theme for Israel's eventual legal partner, Pierce, has a little more contemporary attitude with trumpet over strings and continued 1970's vibes. It conveys restrained but cool tones in "George Pierce Offices," turning dramatic late in cue, and its alternating figures factor into "It's All in the Rearview Mirror" and occupy the middle of "Filing the Brief" in sad string shades. Together, these identities form just enough of a cohesive narrative to carry the story, but don't expect them to really reach out and grab your attention. The final cue, "Filing the Brief," is the obvious winner of the score, summarizing all of the work's themes and modes, aside from the suspenseful synthetics, into one extended moment of closure. The best performances of the score's two main themes also come in this one long passage, making it a smart choice for Howard compilations. The rest of the 40-minute listening experience on album requires a specific mood to appreciate, especially given the gloomy sentiment that prevails in so much of it. The suspense portions sometimes taunt the angelic choral recordings, which hamper their appeal. Some listeners may also recoil at the disparate genres explored, but the score's approach is otherwise more than serviceable.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For James Newton Howard reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.26 (in 81 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.25 (in 89,297 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 40:08