Review of Phantom Thread (2017) by Elaine S — 26 Feb 2018

It's been a while since the last time I contemplated a film in a state of dream-like reverie, but Paul Thomas Anderson's most recent take on offbeat romance gave me that incredible feeling again. Think of how satisfied must a cinephile feel when fed with a sort of Powell/Pressburger production, seasoned with vintage Rebecca era Hitchcock, and for dessert some fantasy elements brought from Charles Perrault or M.R. James -the culinary comparisons are non-gratuitous, by any means-. A magnificent score by Jonny Greenwood is also responsible for bestowing a haunting aura and embellish the darkest turns of the story for almost all its duration.

As his film testament, Daniel Day-Lewis could not have found a most suited part than Reynolds Woodcock, a brilliant artist who is also morbidly compulsive, overbearing, and seemingly unreachable in his creative state.

Commitment, power struggles and artistry explored with humour, razor sharp wit and the beauty of a bygone era.