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You Were Never Really Here (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by Jonny Greenwood
Released	9 March 2018
Recorded	2017–2018
Genre	Film score
Length	41:00
Label	Lakeshore
Producer	Graeme Stewart
Jonny Greenwood chronology
Phantom Thread (2018) You Were Never Really Here (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2018) Spencer (2021)

You Were Never Really Here (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2018 film You Were Never Really Here, composed by Jonny Greenwood. The score was not composed to the film due to Greenwood's busy schedules on tour, instead, as per Ramsay's suggestions, Greenwood had composed few pieces based on the pieces she sent and derived those cues, which was utilised in the background by the sound engineer Graeme Stewart who produced the film score.

The original score featured orchestral string arrangements manipulated with recorders and synthesizers. It was released on 9 March 2018 through Lakeshore Records and was acclaimed by critics, which itself featured in the best-of lists on film scores of the year.

Development

Ramsay wanted to approach Greenwood, as he previously scored We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011). Greenwood being a fan of the former's films was keen to be involved with her as they shared a professional rapport. Since he was on tour, Ramsay sent him few musical pieces to lure him in the project, despite his busy schedules; Greenwood later sent some of the music that he did not score for the picture to Ramsay, which would be edited and incorporated by sound designer Paul Davies and recording and mixing engineer Graeme Stewart.

Greenwood invited few string players from the London Contemporary Orchestra to play the score in a brutal way. He was guided by Ramsay at several instances to provide a noir score, who added "like with Paul Thomas Anderson, it’s like a partnership that serves the film and the story, rather than divisioned labour."

Despite the brutal noir themes, Greenwood composed a tender cue titled "Tree" which was used in the lake scene and again in the credits and few cues had him play strings, guitar and cello that served as a core of the film. The final cue, according to Greenwood, was difficult to compose as "the end of the film needed some sort of resolution, without being triumphant." The orchestration was a challenging process, with Greenwood taking months to prepare the score and recorded with a single session. The session consisted of half players who tuned a quarter tone flat making it out of tune one another. Besides orchestra, Greenwood used recorders and synthesizers.

Reception

Critical reception

Aaron Vehling of Vehlinggo wrote "Greenwood’s You Were Never Really Here cues are a profound exercise in nuance and character." Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork rated the soundtrack 7.8 out of 10 and summarised: "The restraint of his score is a testament to his interpretive abilities, but even as a standalone album, You Were Never Really Here is an engrossing listen." Valentin Maniglia of Score It Magazine called it as "one of the most sensorily powerful film scores of these days."

Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote "The movie’s lean, expressive score, by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, is intense by itself: if the smell of burned rubber had a sound, it would be this." Emily Yoshida of Vulture wrote "Johnny Greenwood’s mournful and energetic score is among his best." Mark Kermode of The Guardian wrote: "Jonny Greenwood’s pulsing, throbbing, clanging score heightens the sensory overload as it meshes with Paul Davies’s immersive sound design."

Best-of lists

• 1st – David Ehrlich; IndieWire
• 1st – Charlie Bridgen; Film School Rejects
• 5th – Clayton Purdom, A.A. Dowd, Alex McLevy; The A.V. Club
• 9th – Bilge Ebiri; Vulture
• 9th – Adam Chitwood; Collider

Track listing

Credits

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Accolades

References

1. Kaufman, Sophie Monks (8 March 2018). "Lynne Ramsay: 'Being a filmmaker is like being a psychoanalyst'". Little White Lies. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
2. O'Falt, Chris (6 April 2018). "'You Were Never Really Here': How Lynne Ramsay Captured the Explosions Inside Joaquin Phoenix's Head". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
3. ^ Cooper, Leonie (6 March 2018). "Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood on scoring the brutal 'You Were Never Really Here'". NME. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
4. Gross, Terry (4 March 2022). "For Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, there are no rules to composing for film". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
5. Vehling, Aaron (8 March 2018). "Jonny Greenwood Has Created a Compelling Score for 'You Were Never Really Here'". Vehlinggo. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
6. Sherburne, Philip (14 March 2018). "Jonny Greenwood: You Were Never Really Here (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
7. Maniglia, Valentin (23 March 2018). "Score Of The Week: You Were Never Really Here (Jonny Greenwood)". Score It Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
8. Zacharek, Stephanie (12 April 2018). "'You Were Never Really Here' Is a Skillfully Crafted Thriller". Time. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
9. Yoshida, Emily (5 April 2018). "Joaquin Phoenix Goes True Detective in You Were Never Really Here". Vulture. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
10. Kermode, Mark (11 March 2018). "You Were Never Really Here review – a hitman with a conscience?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
11. Ehrlich, David (7 December 2018). "The 10 Best Movie Scores of 2018, Ranked". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
12. Brigden, Charlie (10 December 2018). "The Best Movie Scores of 2018". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
13. Purdom, Clayton; Dowd, A. A.; McLevy, Alex (1 December 2018). "The best film soundtracks of 2018". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
14. Ebiri, Bilge (28 December 2018). "The 10 Best Movie Scores of 2018". Vulture. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
15. Chitwood, Adam (21 December 2018). "The Best Movie Scores of 2018: From Black Panther to Suspiria". Collider. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
16. Greenwood, Jonny. You Were Never Really Here (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Lakeshore Records.
17. Burr, Ty (16 December 2018). "Boston Society of Film Critics announces winners". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
18. "Boston Film Critics Name If Beale Street Could Talk The Year's Best Film". Boston Society of Film Critics. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
19. Brown, Mark (31 October 2018). "The Favourite dominates British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
20. ""Roma," "The Favourite" and "A Star is Born" lead 2018 CFCA nominations". Chicago Film Critics Association. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
21. Suzanne-Mayer, Dominick; Roffman, Michael (7 December 2018). "Chicago Film Critics Association announces 2018 nominees". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
22. "'The Favourite' Leads 2018 Florida Film Critics Awards Nominations" (Press release). Florida Film Critics Circle. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
23. Lodge, Guy (4 February 2019). "Lucrecia Martel's Zama Tops International Cinephile Society Winners". Variety. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
24. Stevens, Beth (20 January 2019). "Zama Awaits its Fate, While Burning Catches Fire at ICS Awards". International Cinephile Society. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
25. "Roma Named Best Picture of 2018 by Seattle Film Critics Society". Seattle Film Critics Society. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
26. "The Favourite Leads the 2018 Seattle Film Critics Society Nominations". Seattle Film Critics Society. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.

• 2018 soundtrack albums
• Jonny Greenwood albums
• Lakeshore Records soundtracks