Hear the First Track from Jonny Greenwood’s ‘Spencer’ Score

Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame is the composer behind the original score for Pablo Larraín’s drama “Spencer,” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. Greenwood recently announced that the soundtrack, which puts him in instant Oscar contention, will be released by Mercury KX on November 12, a week after the movie opens in theaters on November 5. Ahead of the soundtrack’s release, listen to the stirring first track off the soundtrack, “Crucifix,” below.

This year, Greenwood also composed the score for Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” melding his usual eerie blend of strings and avant-garde instrumentation. Greenwood previously composed the scores for “You Were Never Really Here” and for every Paul Thomas Anderson film since “There Will Be Blood,” including “Phantom Thread,” which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.

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The official “Spencer” synopsis from Neon and Topic Studios reads: “December, 1991: The Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at Sandringham Estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. This year, things will be a whole lot different.”

The movie is expected to be a major awards contender this year. IndieWire’s awards expert Anne Thompson caught “Spencer” at Telluride and wrote that the Best Actress Oscar is “[Kristen Stewart’s] to lose,” adding, “Stewart pulls us into the young mother’s emotional turmoil as she seeks comfort from her two sons and her confidante dresser (Sally Hawkins), who lays out an outfit for every occasion. After a long and storied career from David Fincher’s ‘Panic Room’ and the blockbuster ‘Twilight’ series to acclaimed art films like Olivier Assayas’ ‘Personal Shopper’ and ‘Clouds of Sils Maria,’ never-nominated Stewart has shown her chops.”

Stewart said at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month that she signed on for “Spencer” before ever reading the script, which was penned by “Locke” screenwriter Steven Knight.

“[Pablo] called me on the phone,” Stewart said. “At first I hadn’t read the script yet, and he proposed this idea and said he was doing this sort of weird tone poem about Diana, and asked whether or not I would be interested in tackling the subject at all, before he sent the script. Kind of without thinking, very irresponsibly, I said ‘Yes, absolutely…’ In the moment right before I was going to say, in a word, yes or no, I was like ‘Who are you if you don’t say yes?’”

Listen to “Crucifix” below.

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