PHANTOM THREAD (2017) Review

When I recommend PHANTOM THREAD to others, it is initially very hard to describe. Its intricacy is its virtue, and detailing it is very hard. I’m still working on an in-depth, one sentence summary that accurately portrays the beautiful complexities of this film. Ultimately, I have settled on describing it as “period piece GONE GIRL”, which as a generalization satisfies me, but still does not do the movie enough justice. It is an electrifying piece that meets star-crossed lovers with revenge, love, and mental poison.

Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) lives his with his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) in the 1950s, as a high-end and serious fashion designer. He is a man who without a doubt knows what he wants. When he meets Alma (Vicky Krieps), his life shifts from a bachelor life onto a path he has not taken, as Alma is as headstrong as he is. He and Alma fall in love; Alma existing to Reynolds as a muse and as a lover. Reynolds works to understand, very poorly I might add, how to fit love into his personalized life.

Paul Thomas Anderson delivers this film in a very slow-burn way that I expect could turn many away from it. However, the pace of this story only works to enhance the viewing, letting the viewer really delve into the relationship of the two main characters. Watching Reynolds and Alma live daily with each other, tolerating malcontents while loving each other immensely not only made me care about them very intensely, but also set up the plot around their relationship beautifully. Every character choice made sense to character personalities; for example, Reynolds having a fit over the word “chic” did not seem out of place in the slightest, and may have been one of my favourite moments, being so true to his character.

All the elements of this movie had me hooked from the beginning, especially the score. I would classify John Greenwood’s score as the best of 2017; accenting the story and characters every which way without being obvious. Every motive was heightened with a piece from the score. Often, a score will force me to leave the film to notice it, or will be overbearing to a fault. PTA and Greenwood work to make sure the score flows with the film, and they succeed extravagantly in doing so. As I listen to the score in my free time, I can re-watch the accompanying scenes in my head with ease.

In terms of performances, Krieps and Manville stood out. Day-Lewis performs exceptionally well (as he always does), yet alongside Krieps and Manville he shines the spotlight towards the two. His performance sets the stage for the two women, installing a platform for them to achieve upon, and boy do they achieve. Manville’s stoic and hostile nature captures Reynolds’ essence, while also realizing her character is the smarter of the two. She plays the older sister extremely well. Krieps manages to move alongside Day-Lewis with ease, feeding off his impatience with more of her own. The dinner scene between the two had me on the edge, feeling tense and emotional all at once. Not once did any actor take me out of the film to analyze their performances, which were nothing less than electrifying.

Although I cannot categorize this film into a genre (drama is too general, let me live), I have no doubt in proclaiming it to be a masterpiece. This will age well, and Alma and Reynolds will live on forever in their messed-up, but perfectly fitting world.

Score: 9.7/10

Jade