No, Jonny Greenwood’s amazing score for “The Phantom Thread” didn’t win the Oscar last weekend, but that doesn’t diminish the incredible work he did for that film. After a string of successful pairings with Paul Thomas Anderson, the musician is back at work with another collaborator, Lynne Ramsay, for her next film, “You Were Never Really Here.”
For those that can’t wait to hear what Greenwood has cooked up for that film, the entire score is now available to stream, and it’s well worth a listen. After working with Ramsay on the film, “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” Greenwood is back with more of that signature sound he is beginning to be known for.
“You Were Never Really Here” tells the story of a traumatized veteran, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who tracks down missing girls for a living, by any means necessary. As we said in an early review of the film, “…it’s clear Ramsay has made something extraordinary, a film that’s both cruel and compassionate, composed of quick, stabbing slivers of insight about how childhood terror can be twisted up with adult compulsion.”
As you might imagine from a premise like that, Greenwood’s score is the perfect complement to the dark film. Again from our review of the film, Greenwood’s score is described, “It is sparingly used but when it is, the cues sound more mistake than music, until they resolve into grandly swooping electronica layered over Elmer Bernstein-esque sleazy ’70s percussion, delivering full-body shivers.”
What else would you expect from the Radiohead guitarist that, in a short time, has made a huge name for himself on the silver screen with his music?
“You Were Never Really Here” opens in the U.S. in April, but the score is available now to stream on Spotify. Do yourself a favor, give it a listen.