AMG Review of Nobody's Fool

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

Howard Shore's score to the little-seen but affecting comedy-drama Nobody's Fool represents a 180-degree departure from the composer's best-known work, eschewing the bleak atmospheres and unsettling atonal effects of his collaborations with David Cronenberg to create an appealingly thoughtful evocation of everyday life in smalltown America. Simple yet elegant, light yet melancholy, Shore's music mirrors the understated strength of Paul Newman's remarkable lead performance. Via acoustic guitar, woodwinds, accordion, and strings, he captures both the fraternity and the frustrations of life outside of the urban grid, exhibiting a subtle optimism absent from his more famous projects.