When a composer and a filmmaker find a groove, the results are a seemingly never-ending well of material. Suffice to say, the best partnerships are far more than just one note. Pun intended! Filmmakers whose work spans multiple genres – war, action, fantasy, crime, all of the above – need a sound that suits the story. There are several long-standing director/composer partnerships out there and one of the more recent noteworthy pairings is the one-two punch of Guy Ritchie & Chris Benstead.
We’ll be completely honest here: one of our very favorite (if not all time favorite) director is Guy Ritchie. A legend now, he blew people away with his first outing: 1998’s ultra hip Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He followed that up with Snatch (a story he actually had on his mind before Lock, Stock) and was not long before he hit the big leagues with similar, yet more advanced properties like Sherlock Holmes and even Disney fair with Aladdin…come on, was that really a stretch? After all, he is a thief. So while we wish Rocknrolla would get more attention (and a follow up) we are hugely happy with efforts like The Gentleman, and the rather polarizing Wrath of Man.
But in the last few years he’s been turning out new work at a dizzying pace; you can’t sleep on Ritchie because he’s certainly not getting any rest. Last year we got The Covenant (which was one of our top 3 films and scores) and this year we get an aces wild, true-to-life WWII period piece with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and a TV show of The Gentleman inspired by the Matthew McConaughey-lead film. You want entertainment? Ritchie’s got ya covered.
So while Guy takes care of the scenery, he enlists Chris Benstead to deliver the sonic booms…or waltzes…whatever the project needs. In many ways, the composer has become Ritchie‘s secret weapon that, subtle as a brick, brings the right themes, melodies and mayhem to our ears. And it hits just as hard as the writing. In The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Benstead offers us a buffet of acoustic accoutrements with big brass and swing band leanings, a little funk and some sweet spaghetti western whistling. Actually, it’s more like jambalaya that is just as fun as it is tasty.
With The Gentlemen TV series, the narrative and characters play somewhat lighter than the film (although there are a lot of highly unsavory and dangerous personalities). In many ways this change of tune (another pun!) was what the series needed as the new, brighter themes are more successful because they are spread across the eight episodes. 2024’s The Gentleman is a waltz through the criminal marijuana pastures, aristocratic playgrounds, boxing matches and illegal car shops. Like all other Ritchie joints, the protagonist is equipped just well enough to hold his own, but still finds himself treading water or underwater for much of the runtime.
We had a ton of laughs with composer Chris on the show. It was chaotic, we shot from the hip, and had one hell of a rodeo. So without further ado, enjoy the fun and frenzy on this episode of The GoSeeTalk Podcast Experience.
