PHANTOM THREAD (2017)

1/26/2018 - Phantom Thread (2017) - 9-/10

I adore Paul Thomas Anderson’s films, loving nearly everything he has done, but I might leave them all at the altar for the sumptuous bride that I must take in The Phantom Thread. Words may not do justice for my awe, euphoria, and beguilement from watching this masterwork and then letting it germinate inside me. I continue to ponder its intricacies and skill, making me want to shell out my hard earned cash to be given the tantalizing gift of seeing it on screen once more.

There is such deliberacy in every quietly cajoled line, stylish stationing of the spectacle, and devilishly devious machinations of the characters love & undulations. The entirety is a systematic machination of expertise married with impassioned sublime virtuosity. Surreptitious soul pours through each shift in the shoulders, rooted affixation of the gaze, and graceful fold of a garment. Excellence cascades from the director, the cinematographer, the production designer, the costumer, the composer, the crew in general...and definitely from the actors. Daniel Day Lewis outdoes himself in this brash reticent genius, as complicated and controlling as he is cultured and competent. Both Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville hold their own, bringing staggering potency and savvy to their oscillating roles within “The House of Woodcock”. Just tremendous craft from everyone involved.

The story is straightforward, but subtly layered. The core relationship between Lewis and Krieps is one of complication and power, but there is such love to be seen and felt there. I am not sure that the ethereal delicacies at work will be appreciated by a wider audience, with simplicity and peculiarity floating on the surface. But for those that decipher the often unspoken, a world of glorious ecstasy awaits. There is uncomfortable squirm mixed with a warm treacle of soulmate level intimacy. All of this while being in the stuffy shirt of dressmaking and sternly funny, deliberately and pointedly.

I would watch these characters every day and just grow more entranced. So idiosyncratic, prickly, and passionate - in the most ingenious and insinuated of ways. I could gush on and on about the unique and priceless lace attached to this already sumptuous and spellbinding garment, but I implore you to just buy this dress and revel in its magnificence.