Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
By Alex Watson
If this is indeed his final film role, Phantom Thread proves just how much we will miss Daniel Day-Lewis. P.T Anderson once again provides a suitably confusing and suffocating ambiance. In what is potentially 2018's most unusual romance, Day-Lewis and newcomer Vicky Krieps make for a spellbinding duo. Also, it gives root to how perfectionist tendencies can make people unravel in the strangest ways.
Reginald Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Leslie Manville) make dresses for some the most elite people. The House of Woodcock is always a name on everyone's lips, but Reginald is never an easy person to work with. Despite considering himself a confirmed bachelor, he falls in love with Alma, a strong-willed and indomitable woman. Soon, he finds his world interrupted and his once strictly guided life becomes disturbed.
The plot of Phantom Thread is a tough one to describe. Then again, since when has a P.T Anderson film been an easy experience? Set mainly in cramped quarters, the tension and conflict slowly rises to stifling levels. The ambiguity is also what makes this picture so great. Cyril and Reginald are a formidable duo, but how much control does his icy sister maintain over her brother? She seems to harbor a lot of opinions over his lovers to the point where she even asks if she should 'ask Alma to leave?' Woodcock is a man of strict routine and throughout this picture, this provides great hilarity. Everything from surprises, slurping tea or even buttering toast loudly bother him greatly. In short, he is a man so tightly wound that even the slightest disruption is met with scorn and hostility.
When he meets Alma, Anderson gives the movie its first injection of feeling. The dialogue is wonderfully strained and awkward as this whirlwind romance plays out. Alma immediately asserts herself into his life and becomes his muse, but we wonder just how Reginald views her? While she is great at modeling clothes, anything deeper is tough to come by. As this love goes on, Anderson frequently changes the tone and there are little moments that have a lasting effect. Reginald's increasingly cold and furious reaction to her cooking dinner is a big indicator of things to come. The lush and surreal cinematography (by Anderson's himself) adds a disturbing glow to events. One scene shows Reginald see the ghost of his dead mother which in the hands of Anderson it has the allure of an old gothic painting.
Phantom Thread does a marvelous job of being both fascinating and nerve-wracking at the same time. Throughout the movies final stages, Reginald's starts watching his wife with a very close eye. Is he right to suspect her of anything or does he deserve any potential deceit? Throughout his feeling for Alma are never quite clear and every small thing serves to drive them further apart. Her solution of dealing with the problem is one that is incredibly shocking but well executed. The production design by Mark Tildesley contributes to the movies elegance. With his breathtaking and sweeping rooms along with the claustrophobic smaller rooms give this picture its unusual feel. As this romance dips and spikes- Anderson creates a rather strange yet happy conclusion. Whether audiences are filled with hope will remain to be seen.
Daniel Day-Lewis once again is incredible under the direction of P.T Anderson. Reginald Woodcock who needs everything to be meticulous and anyone who rebels against it is swiftly rebuffed. His love for Alma is one of the most convoluted you will see. What exactly is he looking to gain from this? Day-Lewis' performance makes us wonder throughout and as usual, it is impossible to ignore the sheer power and bravado he brings. Cinema is going to be severely lacking if he sticks to his retirement. Vicky Krieps is equally strong in a hard-nosed turn as Alma. Refusing to be upstaged by Day-Lewis, she rings in a turn that is ballsy but also surprisingly affecting. The Luxembourg actress is a name that should soon be registering on everyone's radar before long. Leslie Manville also deserves award's recognition for the Lady Macbeth type turn as Cyril. Frequently making the air turn cold whenever she enters a room, her control over The House of Woodcock is spooky.
Phantom Thread is a fitting goodbye to Daniel Day-Lewis and another example of the unusual feel that P.T Anderson brings to our screens.
No comments:
Post a Comment