Directed by:
Paul Thomas AndersonScreenplay:
Paul Thomas AndersonCinematography:
Paul Thomas AndersonComposer:
Jonny GreenwoodCast:
Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville, Richard Graham, Camilla Rutherford, Jason Redshaw, Cedric Tylleman, Gina McKee, Brian Gleeson (more)VOD (3)
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Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative journey, and the women who keep his world running. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (11)
The relationship between an anal-retentive insensitive machine and a romantic honest soul could hardly be portrayed more convincingly. Anderson lets the story flow easily and puts Woodcock’s daily routine front-stage, gradually increasing the intensity of the conflicts that will so thoroughly turn upside down the world of the protagonist. The narrative structure is held without a single stumble and the superb music and great performances make this film something more than just a cold work of art – its coldness and focus are so remarkable that I almost forgave it for not keeping my full attention in all the scenes and that the end arrived at a moment when I still didn’t want it. I might forgive that with time, but now I can humbly admire the surgical precision of the direction and pray that films like this will not be only an exception. 85%
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The aesthetics and thoroughness are so phenomenal that I only regret the amount of space Reynolds' ego receives in the story. If his repetitive manners and utmost despotism were replaced by the richer background of Alma or Cyril, this deliberately unpaced, original, and falsely dramatized display of audiovisual beauty would perhaps have reached even the unattainable.
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It pretends to be a posh romance targeted solely at a distinguished audience, which even the silent coughing takes as the grossest vulgarity. However, nothing could be further from the truth, because beneath the surface it boils through the intense subliminal tension of relationships, from which the Mrštík brothers would be captivated by the black-humorous bliss. It is definitely not for everyone (but not in the sense that it is targeted at more demanding viewer), there are a lot of those who will probably like the first half that is more tragic whereas other may prefer the second one that is more pathological and vice versa. At the same time, they go hand in hand and one without the other would not work. Day-Lewis fully deserves to be praised for this performance. It´s not surprising though. However, the fact that the duo Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville is not outshined by him, nor they are just a sparring partner to him, but they manage to keep up with him, despite less grateful roles, is not so often mentioned. But it should have been mentioned. As for Anderson, it is slightly worse, because from his complex filmmaking performance it is difficult to determine whether he is a better cameraman, screenwriter or director. For most of the film makers the Phantom Thread movie would be the highlight of their career and for the rest of their professional life they would strive to make something as good as that. As for Anderson, this movie is the third from the end. And he is still at the beginning of his career.
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Acting-wise, there's probably nothing much to fault with Phantom Thread, although it's too bad that Daniel Day-Lewis is saying goodbye, but it's his choice and it's a good send-off, showing once again what a great actor he is. But plot-wise, the film failed to pull me in as much as I had hoped, but that's almost always the case with Anderson's films.
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Are you really all fine with the ending that almost made me knock a star off my rating? Such a
detailed and focused, professionally cold and intelligent study of the relationship between two
people – one from the farthest corner of Mars and the other from the farthest part of Venus – with
such brilliantly escalating tension and a creeping threat of tragedy... coming to such inadequately
banal nothingness that, in terms of the script, does not resolve anything? Yes, that’s what would
probably happen in real life, but I expect something more from P.T. Anderson’s movie. All three
actors are wonderful and the constant use of Greenwood’s music with a touch of classicism is
interesting, helping to set the movie in its period and harmonizing with the distinguished character of
Woodcock’s robes.
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