PHANTOM THREAD
(M, 130 mins) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
We’re in London, sometime in the 1950s. Reynolds Woodcock is a dressmaker to royalty and the seriously wealthy. He shares his townhouse and studio with his sister Cyril and a slow procession of lovers – perhaps – and companions. The most recent of whom is a young Scandinavian waitress Reynolds has met at a hotel tearoom.
She – Alma – seems at first to be no match for the tyranny and borderline sadism of Reynolds. But as this Phantom Thread unspools, we will find out not only is Alma up to the job of reining in Reynolds’ towering ego and insecurities, she also might just be the murder of him.
Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, The Master) is on home turf here, peeling back the layers of complex, monstrous people and remorselessly turning the tables on our expectations and preconceptions.
Though it plays out in a succession of fitting rooms, restaurants and grand halls, with nothing more deadly than a dressmaker’s pin or a pot of tea in sight, Phantom Thread is most definitely a thriller. Just one that has been turned down to an almost imperceptible smoulder. This is a nuanced and
elusive film, full of dialogue that seldom means exactly what it says and quick glances that contain volumes.
In the lead, Daniel Day-Lewis is a magnificent portrait of repression and barely contained fury. Vicky Krieps (A Most Wanted Man) is a revelation as Alma, matching Day-Lewis at every turn in a performance bursting with intelligence and wit. But veteran Lesley Manville, as sister Cyril, is maybe the best of the lot, seemingly standing in Reynolds’ shadow, but actually controlling and orchestrating nearly every aspect of his life and wellbeing.
Anderson composes and lights his frames with a patient precision and artistry that maybe Stanley Kubrick would have appreciated. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood contributes a terrific score, his fourth for Anderson.
Phantom Thread is a literate, engrossing and undeniably powerful film. Its themes and ideas will stand up to many, many viewings.
Having seen it once, I’m already planning a return engagement. Maybe this time with someone who might even appreciate all those frocks.