• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Seventh Row

A place to think deeply about movies

  • Archives
    • Browse Articles
    • Review Index
    • Interview Index
  • Podcast
    • Seventh Row Podcast
    • Abortion on Film
    • Creative Nonfiction Podcast
    • Women at Cannes
    • Sundance 2023
    • The Joachim Trier Audio Commentaries
    • 21st Folio
    • Seventh Row on other podcasts
  • Ebooks
    • Mike Leigh
    • Call Me by Your Name
    • Céline Sciamma
    • Kelly Reichardt
    • Joanna Hogg
    • Andrew Haigh
    • Lynne Ramsay
    • Joachim Trier
    • Subjectives realities (Nonfiction film)
    • Documentary Masters
    • Fiction Directors
  • Shop
  • Join Reel Ruminators

The ebook You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue is the first full-length book on the filmmaker Lynne Ramsay and her film You Were Never Really Here. This Lynne Ramsay book has a particular focus on her filmmaking process through interviews with Ramsay and her behind-the-camera team, specifically for her movie You Were Never Really Here.

The first full-length book on Lynne Ramsay’s movies

From the script to the final edit, find out how Lynne Ramsay achieved the complete sensory overload and immersion in her movie You Were Never Really Here from the people who made it with this book*.

Get your copy now

*The book is available as an ebook. Epub and PDF files of the book will be delivered to you on purchase


A fantastic ebook on You Were Never Really Here

“Seventh Row‘s ebook allows for a deeper appreciation of a brilliant piece of art. It’s what we want more often from critical analysis — a conversation with the art and its creators — but so rarely get.”

Brian Tallerico

Managing Editor, rogerebert.com

Read the full review at rogerebert.com


About the ebook on Lynne Ramsay’s movie You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue

Through interviews with the key creative team — Ramsay, cinematographer Tom Townend, editor Joe Bini, sound designer Paul Davies, and producer Jim Wilson — you’ll get a feel for how Ramsay collaborates with her team to realise her vision.

Wild behind-the-scenes stories reveal Ramsay’s sense of humour, knack for experimentation, and genius. Essays articulate how Ramsay uses every cinematic tool at her disposal to put us inside hitman Joe’s traumatized headspace, and how this is a continuation of her career-spanning interest in creating sensory experiences on film.

Get your copy now!

Read free previews of the ebook on You Were Never Really Here

Ramsay’s characters escape trauma through sensations

Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay

A hitman more helpless than heroic

Jim Wilson, Making You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay, Joaquin Phoenix

Producer Jim Wilson: making YWNRH was a ‘crazy fever dream’

Read more

Listen to the podcast on You Were Never Really Here and the ebook

Preview the book with our podcast on You Were Never Really Here where we discuss the insights gleaned from writing and researching the book.

Inside the book on Lynne Ramsay: You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue

Chapter image for An Interview with Lynne Ramsay in the Lynne Ramsay book on her film You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue ebook

Interview: Lynne Ramsay

Ramsay talks subverting hitman archetypes with gentleness, humour, and beauty.

Chapter image for an essay on the hitman in the film You Were Never Really Here from the Lynne Ramsay book You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue ebook

Essay: A hitman more helpless than heroic

An essay by Orla Smith on how the film traps us inside hitman Joe’s mind — but he’s an unreliable narrator who is far more helpless than he realises.

Chapter image for the interview with producer Jim Wilson on the film and movie You Were Never Really Here from the Lynne Ramsay book You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue ebook

Interview: Producer Jim Wilson

Producer Jim Wilson details the wild journey from pre-production to Cannes involved in making You Were Never Really Here.

Interview: Sound Designer Paul Davies

Sound designer Paul Davies discusses crafting a subjective mix that sounds like the inside of a PTSD-stricken head.

Interview: Editor Joe Bini

Editor Joe Bini discusses how he helped craft a visually striking, subjective film by experimenting in the edit.

Interview: Director of Photography (DP) Tom Townend

Interview: Director of Photography (DP) Tom Townend discusses working closely with Lynne Ramsay and adapting to on-set changes.

Essay: Ramsay’s characters escape trauma through sensations

An essay by Elena Lazic on how Lynne Ramsay’s films centre on characters dealing with trauma by losing themselves in sensations, not language.

Get your copy now!

About the authors of the Lynne Ramsay book You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue

Elena Lazic

Elena wrote a dissertation on haptic filmmaking, making her uniquely qualified to analyze Lynne Ramsay’s approach to haptics. Elena also works as a freelance writer for SciFi Now, Little White Lies, and The Guardian, and previously hosted the Seventh Row podcast.

Orla Smith

Orla is a filmmaker and film critic who has co-written and co-edited 13 books with Seventh Row, including a book on feminist horror. Orla regularly appears on The Seventh Row podcast.

Purchase your copy of the Lynne Ramsay ebook You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue:

You Were Never Really Here: A Special Issue ebook

$29.99 USD

Get your copy now!

Footer

Support Seventh Row

  • Film Adventurer Membership
  • Cinephile Membership
  • Ebooks
  • Donate
  • Merchandise
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Workshops & Masterclasses
  • Shop

Connect with Us

  • Podcast
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Browse

  • Interview Index by Job Title
  • Interview Index by Last Name
  • Seventh Row Podcast
  • Directors We Love
  • Films We Love

Join our newsletter

  • Join our free newsletter
  • Get the premium newsletter (become a member)

Featured Ebooks on Directors

  • Joachim Trier
  • Joanna Hogg
  • Céline Sciamma
  • Kelly Reichardt
  • Lynne Ramsay
  • Mike Leigh
  • Andrew Haigh

© 2025 · Seventh Row

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Contribute
  • Contact
  • My Account