Review: Phantom Thread

On first viewing, one is immediately struck by the command of the screen Daniel Day-Lewis has. Day-Lewis brings a particular quiet intensity to his character that is unsettling and shows you just how brilliant he is. It's been widely reported that this is Daniel Day Lewis' last film. If this proves to be true, he chose one hell of a film for his swan song. Trusting Paul Thomas Anderson to create a captivating story about a dressmaker in the 50's is a risky move. Yet, PTA has done it again. 'Phantom Thread' is about many things, the pursuit of perfection, extreme jealousy and manipulation. Whether that be the physical manipulation of a dress or the manipulation of personality and desire to intertwine our lives with another.

The story itself is rather simple, we follow a famous dressmaker, Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis jokingly made up this name in a text exchange with PTA) as he strives for perfection and a quiet space. One moment in the film that I was particularly fond of was seeing Woodcock become infuriated by the sound of spreading butter on toast. This is actually a constant theme throughout the film too. Everyone is in the way of Woodcock and a nuisance in their own way. Many will say the film is far too serious or doesn't have much of a point. But, I'd say the opposite. I found the film to be laugh out loud funny at certain times, though you could tell the audience didn't know if it was appropriate to laugh. Yes, PTA wants to tell the story of a man driven mad by his work, sister and lover. But, it's my belief that PTA finds the entire situation to be laughable.

What kind of love story is 'Phantom Thread' though? It's far from conventional and simultaneously kind of twisted. In many ways it resembles a perverse physcological tale of a man's love for his work, a woman's love for this man and the unbalanced desire and conflict this brings to a marriage. 'Phantom Thread' is true to life or work in a very peculiar way and I believe it will only become more recognizable with future viewings.

'Phantom Thread' will likely divide audiences as most PTA films do. It's a difficult film to ease into, while it's surprisingly Anderson's most accessible film since Boogie Nights. The score and the cinematography deserve special mention too. In my humble opinion, 'Phantom Thread' is one of the best films of the year and should get Daniel Day-Lewis one last Oscar to take to Ireland with him post retirement.

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