Phantom Thread review

PHANTOM THREAD:

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON AND DANIEL DAY-LEWIS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

FOCUS FEATURES

Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread

            Out of all the movies I’ve seen that were released for award season this year, this is quite possibly the movie that surprised me the most. Phantom Thread, the latest film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master) and starring Academy Award winner, Daniel Day-Lewis (The Last of the Mohicans, There Will Be Blood, Lincoln) in his second collaboration with Anderson after There Will Be Blood.

            Going into this movie I knew very little about the premise outside of seeing the trailer a couple times before other films. The basic knowledge I had about the film was it’s about a dressmaker, it’s directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and it stars Daniel Day-Lewis in what’s been reported to be his final acting role, that’s it.

            And now that I’ve seen it, I’ll admit I’m very glad I had little knowledge of the film because I had no idea where it was going, and it enhanced my appreciation for the movie as a whole. The film starts off slow but as it progresses it gets better and better, Phantom Thread is beautifully filmed, well-acted, and finds a near-perfect balance between humor, romance, and drama with plenty of twists.

            Set in 1950s post-war London, the film follows renowned dressmaker, Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) who is at the center of British fashion with his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville-Topsy-Turvy, All or Nothing, Another Year), dressing for royalty, movie stars, heiresses, and dames to name a few with the distinct style of the House of Woodcock. Though Woodcock is a dressmaker, his mind-set is to that of a pretentious artist and everything must be done perfectly and heavily focuses on his work to the point where even if someone chews their food incorrectly at the breakfast table while he’s working, his entire day is ruined.

            His tailor-made life is put to the ultimate test when he meets a strong-willed woman named Alma (Vicky Krieps-House of Boys, Hanna, Colonia Dignidad) who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Woodcock realizes that his organized and planned out life is constantly disrupted by love.

            The film also stars Richard Graham (Titanic, Gangs of New York, The World’s End) as George Riley, Camilla Rutherford (Vanity Fair, Rome, The Darjeeling Limited) as Johanna, Harriet Sansom Harris (Addams Family Values, Desperate Housewives, Memento) as Barbara Rose, Brian Gleeson (Love/Hate, Logan Lucky, Mother!) as Dr. Robert Hardy, Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Hunderby, Camping) as Lady Baltimore, baronet, Nicholas Mander as Lord Baltimore, Gina McKee (Notting Hill, Inspector Morse, Vera) as Countess Henrietta Harding, Phillip Franks (Pie in the Sky, Midsomer Murders, Bleak House) as Peter Martin, Phyllis MacMahon (Leo the Last, The Magdalene Sisters, Shaun of the Dead) as Tippy, and Silas Carson (Star Wars: Episodes I-III, Doctor Who, Locke) as Rubio Gurrerro.

            Overall, Phantom Thread is a fascinating movie, it probably won’t please everyone, and the pacing can be a little slow at times but through the acting, production design, and attention to detail in the story it’ll keep your interest. Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance is phenomenal (Though that statement is like saying “The sky is blue”) and every time he’s on-screen you forget you’re watching him, he always transforms into his characters and not once do you ever comment “There’s Daniel Day-Lewis again”, I don’t think his role is quite as incredible as Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour but it’s still pretty damn good.

            This could easily be described at first glance as a movie about a dressmaker in London and that’s it, oh man, it is so much more than that. As you’re watching it you never know where the movie is going, and it transitions from classy and elegant to strange and dark, like most of Anderson’s films.

            I wouldn’t say Phantom Thread is on par with The Disaster Artist, Lady Bird, The Shape of Water, or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. But as an award contender, Paul Thomas Anderson directed film, and supposed finale of Daniel Day-Lewis’ acting career, Phantom Thread is very well-stitched together and adds the right balance between humor, drama, and romance to make for one uniquely dressed film that’s definitely worth talking about.