Phantom Thread
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville, Julie Vollono, Brian Gleeson, Julia Davis
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
2017
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary: A famous dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) is inspired and unhinged when he falls in love with his latest muse (Vicky Krieps)
Review:
Tim: I can't claim to be the biggest Paul Thomas Anderson fan. His films are always unique, but I don't always love the results. His best film was arguably There Will be Blood, so I was intrigued to see him reunite with Daniel Day-Lewis. Their collaboration this time doesn't strike all the right chords like that previous film did, but Phantom Thread is still a worthwhile movie. It features several talented people in front of and behind the camera, who may not be giving career-best effort, but it's still quite good. This is an interesting, challenging, unexpected movie. While I don't consider it anywhere near the best of 2017, it's still worth seeing.
I was surprised to find that almost all the characters here are unlikable. That's not always a death knell for a film, but it's a troubling discovery. Fortunately, what Anderson does here is make these unlikable people absolutely fascinating. And, that makes all the difference. I didn't like any of the characters, but I was drawn into their flaws, their complexities anyway. That might have prevented me from loving the film (which I did not), but I had no major issues watching the movie. Reynolds Woodcock might have been an awful human being, but I wanted to see what he did next, I wanted to learn what made him tick. Alma might have continuously acted foolishly, but I was impressed with her bravery and determination. Cyril might have been brutally awful to people, but I wanted to see her interact with her brother and I felt compelled to see how her story ended. Anderson did a good job creating characters that I was interested in exploring, even if I didn't like them all that much.
It helps that Anderson had three great performances from his major players to help. Day-Lewis is easily one of the greatest actors of all time. Even though this performance wasn't close to his best, he still drew you into this character. He embraced the more despicable aspects of this character. He was brilliant, but very harsh on people. His performance is effective, and was recognized with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (I'm glad he didn't win, though). Lesley Manville gave a scene-stealing performance as his sister. She was at turns awful and selfish, but there was a strength in her that allowed her to push back when needed. It's really a stunning performance. I loved her interactions with Day-Lewis and Krieps. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and she absolutely deserved that. I was a little disappointed Vicky Krieps didn't get more recognition for her role. I'd seen her before, but she never really landed on my radar. That wasn't the case here. Her performance felt authentic as she holds her own against Day-Lewis and Manville. She was so instrumental to this film- you grew to care about her, even as she did maddening things. I left the film feeling extremely impressed with Krieps.
Now, while I did enjoy many of the sequences here, the film is simply too long at 2 hours, 10 minutes. The story nor the characters are compelling enough for this run time. I know that's not absurd, but a good 10-12 minutes should have been cut from the film. As is, this is a movie you feel glad you saw, but it is absolutely not one I have any intention of revisiting. Once was enough for me. That's never a very good sign. Still, I admit Anderson does enough right to consider this a solid, well-made movie. The ending is somewhat controversial and unexpected, but I enjoyed it. It felt like a fitting end to a rather odd movie. Phantom Thread wasn't as good as anyone involved intended it to be, but I still liked the movie.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, The Master