FILM OF THE WEEK
Phantom Thread Cert: 15A; Now showing
Like the previous collaboration between writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread is wonderful and award winning but on the face of it very different. There Will be Blood was about a rough, cruel Texas oilman where Phantom Thread is about an impeccably groomed and mannered English couturier in 1950s London. But Daniel Plainview and Reynolds Woodcock do share a love of power. Not a vast amount happens in this character and relationship study but it is so carefully crafted and conjured by both Anderson and DDL, indeed the entire cast, that it lingers long after you see it.
The story is told around breakfasts, at the first it is clear that the immaculate Reynolds (Day-Lewis) is tiring of a woman called Joanna and his immaculate sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) will manage this as she manages everything. At the second Reynolds becomes enamoured of a young waitress, Alma (Vicky Krieps) who is swiftly installed as his new muse and love interest. At the third breakfast the initial sparkle of infatuation has dulled and Alma will need managing into the place allocated for muses. But Alma has different ideas and an interesting power struggle ensues.
In what is said to be his last role DDL is extraordinary, no beards or prosthetic noses, just pure acting largely around the question of whether Reynolds is a perfectionist or a bully. Manville got one of the film’s six Oscar nominations for her support but Luxembourger Krieps more than held her own amongst the powerhouses. Perhaps too low on action for some, it is beautiful, atmospheric, quietly engaging, and it lasts long after the credits.