Best Original Score: Jonny Greenwood
By Marco Cartolano
As the lead guitarist of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood contributed to several classic albums before he started working as a soundtrack composer. His first collaboration with Phantom Thread director Paul Thomas Anderson was on There Will Be Blood, where his overpowering score charged several scenes with operatic grandeur. While that score was denied an Academy Award nomination based on a technicality, it is still one of the most acclaimed scores of the 21st century. Greenwood has scored all of Anderson’s subsequent films, but his work has never been nominated until 2018. Phantom Thread’s score was performed by a 60-piece orchestra and sounds as regal as the dresses that Daniel Day-Lewis’ character makes. However, a sense of menace also exists in the luxurious score, particularly on the track “The Hem” that reflects the tension in the film’s central relationship. Of all the nominated scores, Greenwood’s adds the most to his film and should be rewarded for that.