Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
“Phantom Thread” is directed by the literal master Paul Thomas Anderson (“Inherent Vice”) and stars Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”). The film sees him portray esteemed dress-making master Reynolds Woodcock, who falls for a waitress, Alma (Vicky Krieps, “A Most Wanted Man”), and soon after, they begin a relationship. As time progresses, however, Alma begins to see the kind of man that Reynolds is, and their relationship takes a sour, albeit twisted, turn very quickly.
Despite having only made a total of seven films before this one, Anderson has proven time and time again that he truly is a master of his craft. The fact that this film came seemingly out of nowhere, stealing the ninth best picture nomination, as well as the best director nomination that everyone thought was going to Martin McDonagh, shows how good Anderson is. When one thinks of a near-perfect movie, the first thing that comes into their head is not necessarily the world of 1950s fashion. Somehow, though, Anderson not only manages to make it interesting, but also entirely enveloping and engaging.
The last time that Anderson collaborated with the great Daniel Day-Lewis, audiences got arguably one of the greatest achievements the world of film had seen at that point: that film of course being “There Will Be Blood.” While their second collaboration is not exactly on par with their first, the two still manage to combine Anderson’s eye for detail with Day-Lewis’ complete immersion into his area of expertise to create a character who is lovably interesting yet so flawed. The thing that makes him so interesting is not that he is a psychopath the way that the trailers made him out to be, but rather that Woodcock is, by all definitions of the word, severely autistic, most likely a mix between schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Considering it is Daniel Day-Lewis in the part, it is already apparent that he is going to completely immerse himself within this character to give viewing audiences so much more than what they typically get.
But only talking about Day-Lewis would do a disservice to his co-star, because Vicky Krieps manages to hold her own against this titan of acting and often times ends up stealing the spotlight from him completely. She is absolutely mesmerizing to watch, almost as if she manages to appear not completely human in her scenes. Her back-and-forth with Day-Lewis and the relationship that cultivates between the two of them is disturbing and mind bending but not in any sort of a conventional way. Breaking conventions just so happens to be another thing that Paul Thomas Anderson is a master of.
When people talk about looking for something different in movies and they struggle to find that because they are sick of the same old blockbuster schlock they are force-fed week after week. A movie like “Phantom Thread” is the type of movie that breaks that mold.
Masterpiece does not even begin to describe the amount of effort, detail and love that goes into it. Every frame is perfectly shot, every set tells a story of its own, every fiber of every gown is different in some way, and it all flows together to make this film and experience one of the best 2017 has to offer.
Image from Focus Features via YouTube.com
