Mark Isham's music for the 2007 feature drama In the Valley of Elah exhibits a restraint and sensitivity uncommon among contemporary Hollywood scores. Written for a chamber-sized orchestra, the music articulates its bleak emotional outlook in fine, nuanced strokes. Despite favoring a less-is-more approach,
Isham introduces elements of guitar, percussion, and electronics when necessary, but nothing ever seems out of place, let alone gratuitous. As
In the Valley of Elah evolves, the music becomes progressively darker and more intense, but to his credit
Isham remains true to his minimalist sensibilities, and even as the drama builds, the score never sacrifices its scale or scope in the name of Sturm und Drang. ~ Jason Ankeny