Phantom Thread (2017)
Rating: 8.7/10.0
Nick Pick
Directed: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Thread
TL;DR – The acting, screenplay, score, and costumes are all fantastic, but the plot and style will not be for everyone.
Here is an example of a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and was essentially flawless in a technical sense, but I would recommend to very few people. Paul Thomas Anderson’s directorial style demands attention and focus from the viewer, and often his screenplays and sense of humor can be missed by casual filmgoers. The film features outstanding performances from both Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock and Vicky Krieps as Alma Elson, portraying a struggling couple navigating the world of 1950s high fashion. Humor finds its way into many of the scenes and keeps the tone light instead of diving into overly dramatic territory. Much of the humor is quite subtle and very subdued, naturally flowing from the situations and characters, instead of the laugh-out-loud style of humor in most modern comedies. Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) has a tendency to mesh genres and create very unique characters infused in his own idiosyncratic directorial style, and he does the same with this screenplay.
My favorite aspect of the film was the musical score by Jonny Greenwood (lead guitarist from Radiohead). Greenwood and PTA have worked together since There Will Be Blood, and I love the partnership every time. PTA does a great job of combining sound and image in all his films, and he uses the fantastic score extensively throughout the film to establish a particular mood. Often the absence of the score indicates an important conversation about to take place, while the score does a great job establishing a specific atmosphere during transitional points in the plot. I think it has a good shot at winning the award for Best Original Score, but it will have plenty of competition from Hans Zimmer (Dunkirk and Blade Runner 2049) and Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water). Usually scores just play a background role, but a great one can be an integral piece of the cinematic experience (i.e. Star Wars, The Godfather, etc), and I feel the score plays that type of role in this film.
Another standout aspect of the film was the Costume Design. DDL’s character, Reynolds, is a dressmaker and creates some amazing dresses on display throughout the film, often worn by his muse and later his wife, Alma. The film will likely win the Oscar in this category, due to the number of magnificent dresses and their role within the film’s context.
*SPOILERS/PLOT ANALYSIS AHEAD*
Thematically, the film explores the ups and downs of relationships and adapting to the idiosyncrasies and habits of our partners. The main conflict in Alma and Reynolds relationship is Reynolds ceaseless work schedule and inability to adapt to divergences from his normal work routine. Alma finds she must adapt in many ways to Reynolds’s world as he spends time with rich and famous people and has a very particular work schedule that must not be interrupted. One memorable scene features Reynolds getting mad at Alma for the volume of her buttering toast and pouring tea at breakfast, resulting in him storming out of the dining room and struggling to work the rest of the day. Reynolds’s sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), is a near constant part of his life, bordering on a weird/possessive relationship between the two. When Alma attempts to spend time with Reynolds uninterrupted by other seamstresses or his sister, she unintentionally creates a friction within the group as Reynolds does not appreciate the change from his normal work routine and cannot see why Alma insists on this alone time. Their dinner together involving a dispute over buttered asparagus vs. salted and oiled asparagus is one of my favorite scenes in the film. In particular, I appreciated Alma’s inability to articulate her frustration with Reynolds’s lifestyle while he coolly berates her – fantastic acting on both sides of the table here. Eventually Alma resorts to preparing Reynolds’s food/drink with poisonous mushrooms in order to force him to take a rest from work and allow her to take care of him. This break from work allows Reynolds to reflect on his life and realize his love for Alma, which leads to a marriage proposal shortly afterward. The ethics involved in this dynamic relationship are rather complicated considering that Reynolds certainly needed the break and gave Alma the ability to spend time alone with him, but it took poisoning his food to accomplish the task. Shortly after marriage, Reynolds and Alma continue to struggle between Reynolds’s unquenchable drive to create beautiful dresses and Alma’s desire for a more romantic and focused relationship. In the film’s climactic scene, Alma prepares Reynolds an omelet after a serious dispute. Reynolds sees Alma add mushrooms to the mix of ingredients before cooking the food for him. He cuts the omelet and then chews it very slowly, causing the viewer to wonder if he knows that the mushrooms are poisonous. As he chews and swallows the bite, Alma reveals that she wants Reynolds to be bed ridden for awhile, so she can take care of him again and they can both get away from the fashion world and high society for a bit. Reynolds smiles, revealing he knew the food was poisoned and that he wants the break as much as Alma, even though it will cause him significant physical pain. Again the romance is tinged with a certain oddness due to the need of poison to direct Reynolds away from his work. However, the couple learns to adapt to one another’s conflicting personalities and the final images show Alma playing more of a role in Reynolds’s work and them coming to a new understanding and happiness together.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film and felt the combination of fantastic acting, a great screenplay, bolstered by a strong score and costume, and a good mix of humor and drama created a unique atmosphere that captivated me and drew me into a setting I knew little about. I would definitely recommend the movie to PTA fans, and people who enjoy period dramas, but it is certainly not for everyone, and many casual viewers will probably find the movie boring/uninteresting. But regardless of your feelings on the plot, I think anyone would say the film was well done and crafted with care, as all PTA films have been thus far.
Rating: 8.7/10.0
Nick Pick
Directed: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Thread
TL;DR – The acting, screenplay, score, and costumes are all fantastic, but the plot and style will not be for everyone.
Here is an example of a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and was essentially flawless in a technical sense, but I would recommend to very few people. Paul Thomas Anderson’s directorial style demands attention and focus from the viewer, and often his screenplays and sense of humor can be missed by casual filmgoers. The film features outstanding performances from both Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock and Vicky Krieps as Alma Elson, portraying a struggling couple navigating the world of 1950s high fashion. Humor finds its way into many of the scenes and keeps the tone light instead of diving into overly dramatic territory. Much of the humor is quite subtle and very subdued, naturally flowing from the situations and characters, instead of the laugh-out-loud style of humor in most modern comedies. Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) has a tendency to mesh genres and create very unique characters infused in his own idiosyncratic directorial style, and he does the same with this screenplay.
My favorite aspect of the film was the musical score by Jonny Greenwood (lead guitarist from Radiohead). Greenwood and PTA have worked together since There Will Be Blood, and I love the partnership every time. PTA does a great job of combining sound and image in all his films, and he uses the fantastic score extensively throughout the film to establish a particular mood. Often the absence of the score indicates an important conversation about to take place, while the score does a great job establishing a specific atmosphere during transitional points in the plot. I think it has a good shot at winning the award for Best Original Score, but it will have plenty of competition from Hans Zimmer (Dunkirk and Blade Runner 2049) and Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water). Usually scores just play a background role, but a great one can be an integral piece of the cinematic experience (i.e. Star Wars, The Godfather, etc), and I feel the score plays that type of role in this film.
Another standout aspect of the film was the Costume Design. DDL’s character, Reynolds, is a dressmaker and creates some amazing dresses on display throughout the film, often worn by his muse and later his wife, Alma. The film will likely win the Oscar in this category, due to the number of magnificent dresses and their role within the film’s context.
*SPOILERS/PLOT ANALYSIS AHEAD*
Thematically, the film explores the ups and downs of relationships and adapting to the idiosyncrasies and habits of our partners. The main conflict in Alma and Reynolds relationship is Reynolds ceaseless work schedule and inability to adapt to divergences from his normal work routine. Alma finds she must adapt in many ways to Reynolds’s world as he spends time with rich and famous people and has a very particular work schedule that must not be interrupted. One memorable scene features Reynolds getting mad at Alma for the volume of her buttering toast and pouring tea at breakfast, resulting in him storming out of the dining room and struggling to work the rest of the day. Reynolds’s sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), is a near constant part of his life, bordering on a weird/possessive relationship between the two. When Alma attempts to spend time with Reynolds uninterrupted by other seamstresses or his sister, she unintentionally creates a friction within the group as Reynolds does not appreciate the change from his normal work routine and cannot see why Alma insists on this alone time. Their dinner together involving a dispute over buttered asparagus vs. salted and oiled asparagus is one of my favorite scenes in the film. In particular, I appreciated Alma’s inability to articulate her frustration with Reynolds’s lifestyle while he coolly berates her – fantastic acting on both sides of the table here. Eventually Alma resorts to preparing Reynolds’s food/drink with poisonous mushrooms in order to force him to take a rest from work and allow her to take care of him. This break from work allows Reynolds to reflect on his life and realize his love for Alma, which leads to a marriage proposal shortly afterward. The ethics involved in this dynamic relationship are rather complicated considering that Reynolds certainly needed the break and gave Alma the ability to spend time alone with him, but it took poisoning his food to accomplish the task. Shortly after marriage, Reynolds and Alma continue to struggle between Reynolds’s unquenchable drive to create beautiful dresses and Alma’s desire for a more romantic and focused relationship. In the film’s climactic scene, Alma prepares Reynolds an omelet after a serious dispute. Reynolds sees Alma add mushrooms to the mix of ingredients before cooking the food for him. He cuts the omelet and then chews it very slowly, causing the viewer to wonder if he knows that the mushrooms are poisonous. As he chews and swallows the bite, Alma reveals that she wants Reynolds to be bed ridden for awhile, so she can take care of him again and they can both get away from the fashion world and high society for a bit. Reynolds smiles, revealing he knew the food was poisoned and that he wants the break as much as Alma, even though it will cause him significant physical pain. Again the romance is tinged with a certain oddness due to the need of poison to direct Reynolds away from his work. However, the couple learns to adapt to one another’s conflicting personalities and the final images show Alma playing more of a role in Reynolds’s work and them coming to a new understanding and happiness together.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film and felt the combination of fantastic acting, a great screenplay, bolstered by a strong score and costume, and a good mix of humor and drama created a unique atmosphere that captivated me and drew me into a setting I knew little about. I would definitely recommend the movie to PTA fans, and people who enjoy period dramas, but it is certainly not for everyone, and many casual viewers will probably find the movie boring/uninteresting. But regardless of your feelings on the plot, I think anyone would say the film was well done and crafted with care, as all PTA films have been thus far.