Miracle (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

Trumpeter and composer Mark Isham rises to the occasion with his score for director Gavin O'Connor's Miracle. The film chronicles the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's rousing victory over the supposedly superior (then) Soviet Union. Isham engages instantly with the anthemic "The Team," a spirited and memorable slice of Copland-esque Americana that echoes Randy Newman's score for The Natural, and lays the groundwork for what turns out to be a simplistic yet delightful piece of work. Too often composers overwrite their less complex subjects, causing an awkward juxtaposition between the visual and audio aspects of films that should have remained two-dimensional. That Isham succeeds without appearing either jaded or sentimental is a testament to his talents and obvious emotional investment in the film's characters. Like the film itself, Miracle the soundtrack is an underdog of sorts, and definitely worth rooting for.