Ranking the Oscar Nominees: Best Original Score

And the nominees are:

Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer

This is Zimmer's 10th nomination, and his third consecutive one for a Christopher Nolan film. He's at this point in his career as much of a household name as many of the acting nominees, even, having spun out iconic soundtrack after iconic soundtrack for films as varied as Gladiator, The Lion King, Rain Man, The Last Samurai and his last war epic, The Thin Red Line.

Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood

Radiohead's lead guitarist and keyboardist has gotten his first Oscar nomination, finally writing a wrong which Mark Kermode explores in detail in the video above. He really should have been nominated for There Will Be Blood a decade ago, but he's done some other sterling work in his other collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and I hear the soundtrack to Norwegian Wood is great too.

The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat

Desplat is someone whose earlier work was in films I either haven't seen or didn't care much for, with a few exceptions like The Painted Veil, although his body of work was consistently good. Since 2010 he's been consistently putting in great work in excellent films, from prestige dramas to Hollywood blockbusters, and a personal favourite of mine being the score to The Grand Budapest Hotel which very deservedly won the Oscar for that year. In 2017 he also scored Valerian and Suburbicon, and this upcomnig year will be scoring two of my most anticipated films, Isle of Dogs and Kursk.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi – John Williams

When there's a Star Wars film scored by John Williams coming out that's not a prequel, a nomination is but a certainty - although if I'm honest, regardless of what you think about the prequels the music in them is at parts quite phenomenal - and this is Williams' record-breaking 50th nomination. He's been producing high-calibre blockbuster music for more than 40 years now, and his consistent recognition by the Academy is testament to his talents.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Carter Burwell

It's absolutely outstanding that Burwell's been getting more love over these past few years from the awards scene. His collaborations with the Coen brothers, most notably Miller's Crossing and Fargo, have been underrated for far too long, with Fargo particularly badly snubbed since they actually had two categories/ten nominees for that year, and his first nomination came just two years ago for his excellent work on Carol. Three Billboards marks his second collaboration with Martin McDonagh.

My ranking of the nominees:

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - John Williams

Solid work as usual is the very bare minimum for Williams, and he certainly delivers here on all fronts. I wouldn't say the new themes stand out in particular, they certainly never detracted from the film but nothing overly memorable. Themes like 'Chrome Dome' and 'The Battle of Crait' are all suitably rousing, 'Canto Bight' suitably vibrant, 'Who Are You'?' is atmospheric enough, but what stands out the most is the remixing and revitalising of old existing tunes, and I will admit a particular affection for the variations on 'The Force' theme throughout, particularly in 'A New Alliance' and 'Peace and Purpose' where though the highlight of the scenes are elsewhere, help to amplify them.

4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Carter Burwell

Somewhat derivative score, and refined as Burwell's excellent Philip Glass impersonation with Carol, but I'm glad it was nominated, as it is a very good part of a great film. It creates this vibrant yet deeply sombre mood for the scenes on the film where McDonagh's dialogue isn't filling in the spaces, and I have a particular fondness for how it adds to the poignancy of the crucial moments in 'Sorry Welby' and 'My Dear Anne'. The recurring motif is fairly repetitive, but in a way that I think works really well for the film, and when I think about my favourite moments in the film the music usually comes in accordance with it, though I will admit the most memorable musical sequences don't involve Burwell directly through 'The Last Rose of Summer' and 'His Master's Voice'.

3. The Shape of Water - Alexandre Desplat

Excellent fairytale work that fits the water-like tone and flow of the film in the right sort of way. It's not quite as haunting as say, the Pan's Labyrinth score, but it does not need to be as this is such different sort of film where idealism and heightened reality seeps through its veins. The tunes reminded me of Danny Elfman's work on Edward Scissorhands in the best possible way, with the main theme's use of whistling, used to represent Elisa, and the strings, in a way which Desplat himself described as 'playing arpeggios like waves'. This particular refrain is used brilliantly throughout the film, bookending it beautifully, but there's other beautiful little touches throughout like Elisa's theme which is so sprightly and enjoyable to listen to, or the beautiful sense of love and water washing over you when you listen to 'Overflow of Love'.

2. Dunkirk - Hans Zimmer

Zimmer's latest soundtrack is quite the masterpiece, which despite its bombastic nature never distracts from the film, and instead feels like such a natural part of it. It's easy to miss the craftsmanship to his work here if you're not paying attention because of how seamlessly it is integrated into the sound design of the film, where the ticking clock motif for the soundtrack being a particular stroke of genius in how it creates such a pulse-pulsating urgency throughout. The frentic pace is brought to life beautifully by Zimmer, most notably in 'Supermarine' where the use of the propellers and meshing of that fast-paced percussion sound makes us feel so in the moment of the battlefield, balancing the sounds of what characters can hear and the score's evocation of how they feel, the build up from the intense to the inspirational in 'Home', to the brooding, intense atmosphere in 'The Oil'. Benjamin Wallfisch's work with Zimmer must also not be ignored as their work on 'Variation 15' which brings the film to such a stunning closure is rather remarkable in arranging Elgar’s Nimrod. Another example of their great work in re-arranging the sountracks can be found in Blade Runner 2049 but I'll get onto that some other time.

1. Phantom Thread - Jonny Greenwood

This was actually pretty close between the top 2, and I hate to have to choose between these two scores as they are the works of such great, and such distinctly talented musicians. In the end, I'll go with Greenwood whose work here is exceptional, and tops even his sensational work on There Will Be Blood. I've heard a criticism of the film's score that it telegraphs emotions too much, but I disagree, in fact I think it's actually cleverly used to create a stark emotional contrast in certain scenes. More intense themes like 'The Hem' and lighter themes like 'Never Cursed' and 'Boletus Felleus' certainly overpower scenes in their own different ways, but I never felt they directed the audience how to feel, they set the tone but also feel so naturally part of the scene, that it's as if the character's movements are in accordance with the songs, unknowingly, like 'The Hem' where the unstable energies of the strings create such a nuanced sense of urgency. Then there's absolutely stunning, sumptuous scores like 'For the Hungry Boy', and 'House of Woodcock' where the simple use of piano creates the perfect rhythm of a courtship and a day in Reynolds Woodcock's ordered life, which Greenwood subsequently chooses to deconstruct along the way with themes like 'I'll Follow Tomorrow' where he creates the sense of an artist's discontent with such beautiful rhythms, or the darkly comical touches to 'Barbara Rose' and 'Endless Superstition'. My absolute favourite, though, has to be the titular theme which is utilized in such a wide variety of contexts, my absolute favourite being how it is used to cap off the film's brilliant finale.