The remarkably prolific Guy Ritchie’s latest action movie is In the Grey, with Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal starring as “extraction specialists” going in to recover the money and the girl. One benefit of the director making so many movies is that we get to hear new music from Chris Benstead, a composer who rather mysteriously doesn’t seem to work with anyone else (despite being terrific). This is his seventh film with Ritchie and he’s also scored a couple of tv shows as well (all since 2019!) He generally writes fun, stylish, witty music which can have a nod and a wink about it – a little like early Daniel Pemberton, perhaps – it can go serious when needed and is generally the perfect accompaniment to Ritchie’s movies.
Sadly In the Grey has broken the streak of me enjoying everything he’s done. What is still here is the style: Benstead takes a very singular vision of textural suspense, with some Latin American instrumental colour, and absolutely runs with it over the course of the hour-long album. For once though melody isn’t at the forefront (or even in the distance) of his thinking – this is a percussion-based rhythmic drive which pulses with a heartbeat that changes pace as the narrative ebbs and flows, but which makes for a difficult listen away from the film. There’s no doubt it’s intense and effective – there’s a bit of Stockholm syndrome the way some of the obsessively-repeated sounds get into your head – and as a kind of psychological portrait it works like gangbusters – it’s just one that is probably best experienced within the film.
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