FILM REVIEW: Phantom Thread (2017)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

**1/2

There exists a great film – perhaps even a masterpiece – somewhere within Phantom Thread. It’s just too bad that there appears to be little to no incentive to go looking for that great film.

Paul Thomas Anderson is an admirable and skilled enough filmmaker, and I have enough respect for him in that regard – especially considering he has never made the same film twice. That said, his films usually fail to leave me completely satisfied. Boogie Nights, though an enjoyable film, was simply GoodFellas set in the ‘70s porn industry (a formula I feel was overused in the ‘90s). Magnolia was one of the greatest ensemble dramas I’d ever seen ultimately thwarted by one of the stupidest endings in movie history.

The Master, in spite of its compelling characters and performances, had little substance of interest, though I must confess that the ‘Processing’ scene is one of the best of the 21^st century. I remember absolutely nothing about Punch-Drunk Love, and I’m yet to see Hard Eight and Inherent Vice at the time of this review. It’s truly a shame to have to report all of this, because I know the greatness he is capable of. Case in point: his 2007 magnum opus There Will be Blood.

And now we have Phantom Thread, where all the potential is nullified by the film’s utter insipidity.

Day-Lewis is Reynolds Woodcock. He is first introduced going about his morning routine – he shaves, he snips the hairs from his nose, he shines his shoes, and so on. This is all handled a way that suggests a man of meticulousness, precision, and perfection, yet there is also something rather casual about his manner. Perhaps he is a perfectionist not because of power-hungry tyranny, but rather of deep-rooted insecurity.

He proceeds on to another day at the office. Reynolds is a dress-maker, which his perfectionism carries over into. As a result, Reynolds’ work is widely renowned. In one particular scene I really enjoyed, he is out to dinner when he is approached by two young women flabbergasted to be in his presence, as if Reynolds was a movie star. One of the blurts out how she is so in love with Reynolds’ dresses that she wants to wear one to her grave. Oh, how we lose all self-control in front of our idols.

Reynolds is having breakfast one morning when he sees something in his clumsy waitress, Alma (Vicky Krieps). He asks her to dinner, and she agrees. After their evening out, he takes her back to his home. It is here that Reynolds’ insecurities begin to surface: he is a man unable to overcome the death of his mother (Freud would find an exceptional subject in Reynolds). When she asks why he is not married, he firmly believes he must lead a life of permanent bachelordom as a dress-maker.

They move forward with the evening. She tries on dresses, he observes and admires in a fashion that suggests sexual undercurrents – I was reminded of the early photography sequences in Blow-Up, but in a more elegant and tasteful way in Phantom Thread.

From this evening forward, Alma finds herself the muse and object of romantic interest of Reynolds.

While I was invested enough, I was waiting for the movie to really grip me. When we get to this point, my interest was soaring. Unfortunately, this is about as interesting as Phantom Thread gets. It dwells and dwells and dwells some more. There is no apparent cultivation in the relationship of Alma and Reynolds. Alma’s timid clumsiness finds itself in conflict with the perfectionism of Reynolds, an interesting dynamic (though nothing particularly new).

I shouldn’t be criticizing the surface elements of Phantom Thread, as it is clearly a film that is driven primarily by its undercurrents and underlined themes. Fine. I love films that work like this. Defenders of Phantom Threads will probably clamor in presenting their analyses. I am more than welcoming of those who want to tell me what the film means, but it still fails for me at the end of the day. Sure, its sets and costumes are exceptions, but the film around the elegant production is just plain dry. It’s almost like decorative fruit: as good as it looks, there is zero flavor. No matter how good it looks, if it tastes less than stellar, why should I continue consumption?

To talk about Phantom Thread without talking about Daniel Day-Lewis is an impossibility. Along with being his second collaboration with Anderson, this is also his final film role before retirement, and it leaves much to be desired. It’s a fine performance, but these same two men were the driving forces of There Will be Blood, which resulted in not only a masterpiece, but quite possibly the greatest lead male performance of the 21^st Century. I don’t think it’s unfair to have expected a bit more.

Phantom Thread has been receiving acclaim since its premier on Christmas 2017. I anticipate many fans of P.T. Anderson will find another worthy addition to his filmography. I wish I could hop on the bandwagon, as I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I spite of his lackluster performance, I wish Daniel Day-Lewis a great retirement. As for Anderson, I am left unsatisfied once again. Perhaps next time, though.