Review of Phantom Thread (2017) by Kenr — 29 Nov 2018

What can you say....Awards galore, National Board of Review, marvellous lighting, images, great performances, direction, costumes, interesting music score and on it goes...Now, what about the story? What was Paul Thomas Anderson thinking – had he perhaps just watched ‘Suspicion’ and a string of other classics with similar themes? So then, is this the great love story – about two perfectly unsuited people who meet in rather unbelievable circumstances - then grow into a love-hate relationship that develops into deeper territory with every inflicted irritation? Even several odd side plots like names sewn into garments, the controlling sister, the ghostly mother fixation etc, tend to go little further than the development desk – all interesting, but never fully explored. Now enters the High Point:– let’s try ‘poisoning’ to assist the relationship in its rise to all-time classic proportions! And, if at first you don’t succeed – attempt it multiple times till you reach the desired mutual loving attraction!

This is bizarrely weird in any measure of the written word. Still, it’s just weird enough to gain full adoration of today’s ‘art society’ and the Academy! Not to be missed - magnificent pretentious ambiguity cannot be denied its position in high creative circles. The treatment is too heavy to work as comedy and too weak for great drama. Just approach with caution if you seek entertainment grounded in a little more honest believability. Daniel Day-Lewis may need to take another ‘last’ role - to atone for this lame foolishness no matter how technically perfect it all may be. It’s interesting to find critic, Michael Woods revealing observations (London Review) as one of the only honest ‘stand-out-from-the-crowd’ assessments – just hope he doesn’t eventually accept membership into ‘the club’...