The Next Three Days – Music from the Motion Picture

Background

Danny Elfman composed the film score for The Next Three Days. Unlike his previous films, which had broad and large orchestral themes for major pictures, Elfman developed a quiet, intense and internalized score that supported the characters' inner turmoil and developed more subtle themes for building tension. He noted that the score had a personality of being subtle and tense, and felt Haggis' process to be wonderful on emphasizing understated sparseness to build tension. Singer-songwriter Moby wrote and performed two songs for the film.

Reception

Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks wrote "it's a pleasant enough diversion to recommend to those who prefer lightly rhythmic, non-offensive suspense music with a tender temperament." Daniel Schweiger of AssignmentX wrote "Elfman’s inimitably eccentric style has perhaps never sounded so effectively normal as it were, combining an emotional heartbeat with gripping suspense rhythms, as tender guitars, pianos and melodically tense strings reflect the love and determination that turns an ordinary husband into a fugitive." William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote "the music suggests more of a psychological thriller in which things may not be what they seem than a heart-pounding action picture."

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called it "an uncharacteristically conventional score by Danny Elfman". Justin Chang of Variety wrote "Danny Elfman’s score dutifully channels the propulsive rhythms of Bernard Herrmann before veering into moody electronica in the downright hysterical closing stretch." Glen Chapman of Den of Geek wrote "Elfman’s score here is solid, rather than outstanding." A. O. Scott of The New York Times noticed the score to be tense and overwhelmed.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes: