Show & Tell: Phantom Thread
Despite a yard featuring a heavy crop of crocuses, a fine stand of snowdrops and the emerging green tops of every variety of spring flower, New Hampshire’s unusually stubborn winter continues to hold his chilly sway. But it can’t last. At least I think it can’t. Jeez, it’s never a good idea to insult winter in New Hampshire, where it has snowed in every month of the year except August. (Yes, that’s because of Mt. Washington, but it still counts.)
So, our job is to get through the rest of the Cold King’s reign with as little psychological damage as possible. And for me, that means getting into a nice, deep discussion of a movie that’s got some meat on its bones.
And there aren’t many meatier masterpieces than Phantom Thread, the latest from the master of the bent character study, Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson, a young man with a distinct artistic vision, loves to take obsessed characters, put them into meticulously detailed worlds and watch what happens as they try to get along with people who don’t share their vision. (Anderson scored big with There Will Be Blood, a 2007 movie about a pioneer oil explorer that also starred Daniel Day-Lewis.)
Phantom Thread is set in post-WWII Britain and follows fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock, a hugely successful dresser of the rich, the stylish, and the royal of Great Britain. Woodcock (like Daniel Day-Lewis) has devoted his life to fashion and regulates every aspect of his days to protecting his fragile equanimity. Any disruption in his routines is painful to him, which makes it difficult for any woman who becomes a romantic object.
Then comes Alma, played by Vicky Krieps, a waitress who has something about her that fascinates Woodcock and turns her into his muse.
Watching all this is Woodcock’s sister, Cyril, who has taken on the job of protecting her delicately balanced brother. The dance of the designer, his well-loved-but-disruptive muse, and his sister/keeper is a joy to watch.
Some people have found Phantom Thread a little chilly and unrelatable, but I absolutely cannot fathom that. Day-Lewis’ performance is his usual full-immersion transformation and the tension in the movie is palpable. No, there are no guns or weapons, but the stakes are high for the characters and they are absolutely convincing. And Anderson is so complete a director that he can even throw a humorous curve-ball now and again.
Phantom Thread got a nice bouquet of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, and won for Best Costume Design, which seems appropriate. But the Academy wasn’t wrong about any of those nominations and the movie is a thing of beauty, drama, and a little touch of perverse sexuality. Oh, did I say that out loud? I meant to keep that a secret. Oh, well.
I hope to see you today, Tuesday, April 10 at 7:00 in the Big Room at The Music Hall. But if you’ve already seen it and are still looking for a movie to take your mind off your frostbitten fingers, Leaning Into The Wind in The Loft is a documentary about Andy Goldsworthy, and about as perfect a subject for a visual record as I can think of. So if you want to see that, I’ll forgive you.
And don’t forget to mark your calendar for April 24 for the discussion of A Fantastic Woman, a film that has a cohort of enthusiastic fans about as devoted as I’ve ever seen. It should be great.
Paul Goodwin
TMHMG