Phantom Thread - Review
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville
It's been over 10 years since the release of There Will Be Blood, the first collaboration between director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis. The film garnered many Oscar nominations (including a win for Ddl) and has since been heralded as one of the best films of the 21st century. Fast forward a decade and two of the most masterful artists in their respective fields have re-teamed for Phantom Thread, an emotionally complex period drama. Sadly, this will be Day-Lewis' final acting role as he announced his retirement in 2017, but he leaves the industry on an inarguable insurmountable high.
Set in 1950's London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is at the pinnacle of his career, dressing royalist and other important figures with his sister Cyril (Manville) at his side. Woodcock is a confirmed bachelor until he meets Alma (Krieps), a headstrong young woman who becomes his muse and lover. However, Alma's arrival brings disruption to Woodcock's carefully controlled life.
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson has frequently mined darkly comic territory, most notably with Punch Drunk Love and Inherent Vice, but Phantom Thread may be his most uncomfortably humorous effort to date. Barbed exchanges and playful conversation that soon turn into passive aggressive confrontations are laced with toxic jocularity. It's often at the expense of Alma but there's no need to fear - she gives as good as she gets and is not at all a victim of female humiliation and exploitation. Alma displays a persistence, unshakeable power and cunning resilience that makes her every bit an equal to Woodcock in this deliciously twisted two-hander.
Relative newcomer Vicky Krieps is an absolute revelation in the role of Alma. Alma is discovered by Woodcock in a small cafe and the bizarre attraction between the two is instant. On their first date, he takes her measurements but as their relationship develops, Woodcock realises that Alma is not as obedient or compliant as a mannequin - or his other previous muses. She upsets his rigid lifestyle; she butters her toast at an inconsiderate volume during breakfast and has the audacity to arrange a romantic dinner date that Woodcock deems to be an "ambush". Just like Alma holds her own against Woodcock, Krieps similarly fiercely opposes Day-Lewis, a God-like figure in their profession. The actress unfortunately hasn't received much love or attention this awards season but her nuanced performance is elegantly forceful and she helps to make this quiet gothic power struggle utterly riveting. Lesley Manville as Cyril also provides an excellent supporting turn and brings a warmth to the character that could quite easily have been an icy matriarchal stereotype.
Meanwhile, Daniel Day-Lewis embodies the role like one of the House of Woodcock's tailored gowns and delivers a worthy final performance. Reynolds Woodcock is a man-child who makes a petulant fuss every time his designed routine is remotely disturbed but, unlike a child, he never raise his voice above a soft-spoken authoritative purr that commands the attention of everyone in the room. The designer extraordinaire is accustomed to creating art that leaves a trace of himself in every piece and when he feels his power and grip on his empire slipping through his fingers like a fine silk, he seeks reassurance from big sister Cyril who caters to his every creative whim. From his muse, Woodcock creates sensational fashion but his relationship with his greatest inspiration is far from a masterpiece and no amount of alterations can seemingly make them a perfect fit. Fashion can be manipulated to fit like a glove. Love can't.
Sublimely directed by one of our most revered filmmakers and featuring an exquisite final performance from Daniel Day-Lewis and star-making turns from several cast members, Phantom Thread is a beautifully perverse piece of cinema and the best film of the year so far.
EB
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville
It's been over 10 years since the release of There Will Be Blood, the first collaboration between director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis. The film garnered many Oscar nominations (including a win for Ddl) and has since been heralded as one of the best films of the 21st century. Fast forward a decade and two of the most masterful artists in their respective fields have re-teamed for Phantom Thread, an emotionally complex period drama. Sadly, this will be Day-Lewis' final acting role as he announced his retirement in 2017, but he leaves the industry on an inarguable insurmountable high.Set in 1950's London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is at the pinnacle of his career, dressing royalist and other important figures with his sister Cyril (Manville) at his side. Woodcock is a confirmed bachelor until he meets Alma (Krieps), a headstrong young woman who becomes his muse and lover. However, Alma's arrival brings disruption to Woodcock's carefully controlled life.
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson has frequently mined darkly comic territory, most notably with Punch Drunk Love and Inherent Vice, but Phantom Thread may be his most uncomfortably humorous effort to date. Barbed exchanges and playful conversation that soon turn into passive aggressive confrontations are laced with toxic jocularity. It's often at the expense of Alma but there's no need to fear - she gives as good as she gets and is not at all a victim of female humiliation and exploitation. Alma displays a persistence, unshakeable power and cunning resilience that makes her every bit an equal to Woodcock in this deliciously twisted two-hander.
Relative newcomer Vicky Krieps is an absolute revelation in the role of Alma. Alma is discovered by Woodcock in a small cafe and the bizarre attraction between the two is instant. On their first date, he takes her measurements but as their relationship develops, Woodcock realises that Alma is not as obedient or compliant as a mannequin - or his other previous muses. She upsets his rigid lifestyle; she butters her toast at an inconsiderate volume during breakfast and has the audacity to arrange a romantic dinner date that Woodcock deems to be an "ambush". Just like Alma holds her own against Woodcock, Krieps similarly fiercely opposes Day-Lewis, a God-like figure in their profession. The actress unfortunately hasn't received much love or attention this awards season but her nuanced performance is elegantly forceful and she helps to make this quiet gothic power struggle utterly riveting. Lesley Manville as Cyril also provides an excellent supporting turn and brings a warmth to the character that could quite easily have been an icy matriarchal stereotype.
Meanwhile, Daniel Day-Lewis embodies the role like one of the House of Woodcock's tailored gowns and delivers a worthy final performance. Reynolds Woodcock is a man-child who makes a petulant fuss every time his designed routine is remotely disturbed but, unlike a child, he never raise his voice above a soft-spoken authoritative purr that commands the attention of everyone in the room. The designer extraordinaire is accustomed to creating art that leaves a trace of himself in every piece and when he feels his power and grip on his empire slipping through his fingers like a fine silk, he seeks reassurance from big sister Cyril who caters to his every creative whim. From his muse, Woodcock creates sensational fashion but his relationship with his greatest inspiration is far from a masterpiece and no amount of alterations can seemingly make them a perfect fit. Fashion can be manipulated to fit like a glove. Love can't.
Sublimely directed by one of our most revered filmmakers and featuring an exquisite final performance from Daniel Day-Lewis and star-making turns from several cast members, Phantom Thread is a beautifully perverse piece of cinema and the best film of the year so far.
EB
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