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Have a lot of admiration for Paul Thomas Anderson and really like to love all his work, especially 'Boogie Nights' and 'There Will Be Blood', even finding a lot to admire with his weakest film ('Inherent Vice' from personal opinion). Also consider Daniel Day-Lewis a wonderful actor and that his triple Oscar wins are testament to that.
With 'Phantom Thread' being touted as Day-Lewis' swan song (very sad) and with so many award nominations, interest was incredibly high despite not being completely sold by the advertising. Seeing it yesterday when it first came out in my country, found it to be a truly outstanding film in every regard. One of the most beautiful and most interesting films seen recently and the standout so far of the 2017 films released here this year. Also consider it Anderson's best film since 'There Will Be Blood' and one of his very best.
'Phantom Thread' is a visually stunning film. It's beautifully and cleverly photographed (the techniques and types of camera-work being typical Anderson), with the cinematography allowing one to be in awe of the sumptuous production design and jaw droppingly gorgeous costume design (my win for this year's Oscar for its category).
Anderson's distinctive directing style is written all over the film. Meaning visual boldness, the memorable way in how he uses music, how he handles thematic consistency and having characters that are flawed but realistically so while not being necessarily likeable. All present here.
Jonny Greenwood's music score is as ever an interesting and layered in mood, hauntingly beautiful and clever one on its own, one that is not forgotten. Just as remarkable is the sympathetic way it's used while being like its own character in the film. Undoubtedly the reason for its Oscar nomination. The pre-existing music makes every bit as much of an impression, perhaps even more so. Most of it classical, with a mix of solo piano, symphonic and especially chamber music (on top of popular songs from the period). They are either understatedly heard in the background, appropriate for a gentle piece like Faure's Berceuse, or like characters of their own that enhance the intense mood of the scene in question, such as the Schubert and especially the Debussy (made to sound easy by the performance of the quartet, when it's actually a nightmare, Debussy in general is hard having sung many of his songs and he can be unforgiving to vocalists).
Throughout, 'Phantom Thread' is very thoughtfully and even poetically scripted, with remarkable complexity. To make Alma an ambiguous character with vague motivations was an intriguing choice, and while it will no doubt frustrate viewers and will be considered a flaw it came over very well and only added to the realistically complicated dynamic of her relationship with Reynolds.
In terms of the story, 'Phantom Thread' is anchored by this relationship dynamic. It may not be a novel theme, with other films having done it (a recent example being 'Mother!'), but 'Phantom Thread' handles this far better than most of them, what it says about it is illuminating, fresh and surprisingly subtle. Also effective was how the high fashion world is portrayed, on the outside it's glamorous in how it looks and is worn and methodical in how the dresses are made but behind the scenes there is bitterness and cruelness, a very truthful, if again not new, depiction and a relevant one by today's standards.
Acting is throughout extremely good, superb with the three leads. Vicky Krieps is a powerful and subtle presence (very difficult to do with a character with as much ambiguity that Alma does), while Lesley Manville makes a somewhat thankless role terrifyingly formidable. But it's Day-Lewis' film, it's perhaps his most personal role with a little of himself in Reynolds and Day-Lewis gives the performance of his life portraying a man with vulnerable sensitivity and erratic quirks and is simply mesmerising, his swan-song being one of his finest performances and one of the year's overall best too. Am rooting for either him or Gary Oldman for 'Darkest Hour' for the Best Actor Oscar.
It's already been said that Reynolds is not a likeable or relatable character. To me, he is not likeable but he is flawed in a realistic way (as said a trademark of Anderson and one of his strongest examples) and personally could identify with his quirks and sensitivity, being an autistic person prone to sensitivity and erratic moods, a lot of difficulties and obstacles having to be faced all my life and having a few compulsive quirks of my own. Though not as extreme as those of Reynolds, still try to be nice and easy to get on with despite all this.
Overall, a divine film. A long film and a slow one but hugely rewarding. An easy 10/10. Bethany Cox
