Review of Phantom Thread (2017) by Thomas B — 07 Aug 2018

Only Paul Thomas Anderson can have me gripping the edge of my seat for over two hours in a movie revolving around women's fashion.

What an unexpected delight of a film. I'll be honest - if it wasn't for PTA and Daniel Day-Lewis, this is definitely not the kind of movie I would have checked out expecting to like, let alone love. There's something about 'Phantom Thread' where, in a similar way to 'There Will Be Blood', the filmmaking, attention to detail and level of talent both on and off screen just makes watching it such a pleasant and fulfilling experience. Serious thought and consideration has been put into every aspect of this film - this truly has been 'crafted' by artists.

The central romance was endlessly fascinating, and it turned out that Anderson was once again pulling on a theme present in pretty much all of his movies - family. Although I'm not entirely sure about the poison side of the ending yet, I get the feeling that it will grow on me as I love the sentiment behind it. It is often said that many men end up marrying women that reflect their mothers in some way or another and, whilst I personally don't relate to this, I love how Anderson tackles the idea. Throughout the film Reynolds is not only clearly missing his mother - so dearly that he even see's a vision of her at one stage - but also feels that marriage and relationships with women have no chance of working out; describing them as "cursed". So it's fitting then that when he does find love in Alma by the end, she manages to both fulfil the motherly touch he's been craving but also distract him from his work - the other thing that's been stopping him from building any kind of meaningful relationship. Poison does seem a rather extreme length to go to, but it shows just how internally broken and desperate Reynold's character really is. It's not so much a happy ending as a functioning compromise.

Day-Lewis is obviously great, but I honestly think PTA is not only one of the best directors working today, but possibly one of the best of all time. Really stunning stuff, and the best thing is - I can't wait to revisit it.