Phantom Thread - Analysis & Review |
12/02/18
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Since 1996, when he debuted his neo-crime thriller Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson has established himself as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. After the perfect-in-every-aspect There Will Be Blood he made us wait for his next film with Daniel Day-Lewis for 10 long years, but his return is absolutely spectacular. The director comes back with this disturbing gothic love story about the eminent and sybaritic fictional dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock.
Phantom Thread is another extraordinary collaboration between Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis. This time, however, Day-Lewis not only stars as the protagonist but also co-wrote the script, and had influence on every detail of Reynolds personal wardrobe and surroundings. His dedication doesn't surprise as he is known for his absolute devotion and lengthy research in order to prepare for every role, and for his emotional bravery and sacrifice in order to ‘become’ the character. Therefore he’s considered one of the most famous living method actors. However, in the case of Phantom Thread, his synthesis with the film was so powerful that he publicly announced retirement from acting. To materialize Reynolds Woodcock, Day-Lewis not only studied the vintage fashion shows from 1950s and the life of the designers but also learned how to sew and decided to undergo an apprenticeship at the Costume department of the New York City Ballet. Therefore, when the camera started rolling, he knew exactly how the wardrobe of Reynolds and style of his work should look. He collaborated closely with the film's costume designer, Mark Bridges. In addition, he invented and considered even how Reynolds’ house should be decorated all the way down to the look of his sketchpads. Daniel Day-Lewis brought Reynolds Woodcock to life with admirable precision and perfection comparable to those of the protagonist. We can easily observe a disturbing comparison between Woodcock and Day-Lewis: both of them are men obsessed with the creative process. There are no doubts that this is one of the best performances in the actor’s career and if he’s really going to retire, this is the perfect role and film to consider his last. If he rethinks his decision and goes back to acting, which I truly hope for, the struggle he went through while making Phantom Thread did the film a favour in the form of an advertising boost.
The action of the film takes place in London of 1950, a time when the city was still recovering from the devastation and horror of the Second World War. Reynolds Woodcock fills his life with designing the spectacular pieces of couture clothes for the aristocracy, celebrities and wealthy women. His days are governed by rituals and a strict, unsparing routine. Anderson spends a considerable amount of time conveying the atmosphere of the House of Woodcock and the hermetically rigorous life that Reynolds leads. There is unsettling precision in every gesture, every action that he undertakes. Through sorely vivid close-ups, we witness Woodcock having his morning toilet and breakfast. We observe the breathtakingly beautiful garments being crated: hand sewn labels, the point of a needle piercing material, colorful, luxurious fabrics that fall down resembling classic sculptures. These opening shots transport us to the elegant but distant world of the protagonist where there is no space for love. The only women that are part of it are his female clients and his sister Cyril who along with Reynolds runs the Woodcock House and who the designer describes as his old so-and-so. Lesley Manville graces the film with an incredible performance as the raw, frosty sidekick of her brother. She never married and Reynolds truly believed that she was cursed by the fact she has touched the wedding dress he made for his mother’s second marriage. Well, she's also been touching wedding dresses as his assistant for most of her life which probably reinforced the curse. Cyril, however, doesn't seem to be overly concerned by the lack of husband. Her ostentatious resting bitch-face and masterly expressed exhaustion with Reynolds' never-ending nonsense won Manville the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. I would go as far as admitting that she's my favorite and most inspiring character in the film. Meticulous and uncompromising, she resembles Anne Wintour or Miranda Priestly. I want to believe it was not the curse that made her stay single and childless but a conscious choice because she’s definitely capable of being on her own. It is her who manages the company and her brother's moods. Without her, there would be no one to deal with accountancy, hiring and firing the staff. She's her brother's therapist, mother-figure and is responsible for dealing with his love life. Cyril possesses the gaze that dominates everyone and maybe there was simply no man brave and strong enough to become her partner?
Ok, I will stop eulogizing Lesley Manville now and go back to the plot! Thus, our Reynolds lives his lover-free, trenchantly rigorous life until one morning, while going out for breakfast he meets Alma (astonishingly captured by young actress from Luxemburg Vicky Krieps). The young waitress is hypnotized by the older, elegant designer from the first moment she sees him. She doesn't seem to be put off by his dogmatic way of ordering breakfast. She’s rather awestruck and even more intrigued. Woodcock, on the other hand, establishes the emotional dominance in their relationship as soon as he takes over her notepad. The scene of their first meeting is significant if we look at Reynolds as a person suffering from bipolar disorder. At that time he's in his manic phase in which he's vulnerable and capable of opening his heart to someone else, with true feelings. Moreover, it establishes the significance of food and being fed by Alma which throughout the film will become tremendously meaningful.
Phantom Thread is another extraordinary collaboration between Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis. This time, however, Day-Lewis not only stars as the protagonist but also co-wrote the script, and had influence on every detail of Reynolds personal wardrobe and surroundings. His dedication doesn't surprise as he is known for his absolute devotion and lengthy research in order to prepare for every role, and for his emotional bravery and sacrifice in order to ‘become’ the character. Therefore he’s considered one of the most famous living method actors. However, in the case of Phantom Thread, his synthesis with the film was so powerful that he publicly announced retirement from acting. To materialize Reynolds Woodcock, Day-Lewis not only studied the vintage fashion shows from 1950s and the life of the designers but also learned how to sew and decided to undergo an apprenticeship at the Costume department of the New York City Ballet. Therefore, when the camera started rolling, he knew exactly how the wardrobe of Reynolds and style of his work should look. He collaborated closely with the film's costume designer, Mark Bridges. In addition, he invented and considered even how Reynolds’ house should be decorated all the way down to the look of his sketchpads. Daniel Day-Lewis brought Reynolds Woodcock to life with admirable precision and perfection comparable to those of the protagonist. We can easily observe a disturbing comparison between Woodcock and Day-Lewis: both of them are men obsessed with the creative process. There are no doubts that this is one of the best performances in the actor’s career and if he’s really going to retire, this is the perfect role and film to consider his last. If he rethinks his decision and goes back to acting, which I truly hope for, the struggle he went through while making Phantom Thread did the film a favour in the form of an advertising boost.
The action of the film takes place in London of 1950, a time when the city was still recovering from the devastation and horror of the Second World War. Reynolds Woodcock fills his life with designing the spectacular pieces of couture clothes for the aristocracy, celebrities and wealthy women. His days are governed by rituals and a strict, unsparing routine. Anderson spends a considerable amount of time conveying the atmosphere of the House of Woodcock and the hermetically rigorous life that Reynolds leads. There is unsettling precision in every gesture, every action that he undertakes. Through sorely vivid close-ups, we witness Woodcock having his morning toilet and breakfast. We observe the breathtakingly beautiful garments being crated: hand sewn labels, the point of a needle piercing material, colorful, luxurious fabrics that fall down resembling classic sculptures. These opening shots transport us to the elegant but distant world of the protagonist where there is no space for love. The only women that are part of it are his female clients and his sister Cyril who along with Reynolds runs the Woodcock House and who the designer describes as his old so-and-so. Lesley Manville graces the film with an incredible performance as the raw, frosty sidekick of her brother. She never married and Reynolds truly believed that she was cursed by the fact she has touched the wedding dress he made for his mother’s second marriage. Well, she's also been touching wedding dresses as his assistant for most of her life which probably reinforced the curse. Cyril, however, doesn't seem to be overly concerned by the lack of husband. Her ostentatious resting bitch-face and masterly expressed exhaustion with Reynolds' never-ending nonsense won Manville the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. I would go as far as admitting that she's my favorite and most inspiring character in the film. Meticulous and uncompromising, she resembles Anne Wintour or Miranda Priestly. I want to believe it was not the curse that made her stay single and childless but a conscious choice because she’s definitely capable of being on her own. It is her who manages the company and her brother's moods. Without her, there would be no one to deal with accountancy, hiring and firing the staff. She's her brother's therapist, mother-figure and is responsible for dealing with his love life. Cyril possesses the gaze that dominates everyone and maybe there was simply no man brave and strong enough to become her partner?
Ok, I will stop eulogizing Lesley Manville now and go back to the plot! Thus, our Reynolds lives his lover-free, trenchantly rigorous life until one morning, while going out for breakfast he meets Alma (astonishingly captured by young actress from Luxemburg Vicky Krieps). The young waitress is hypnotized by the older, elegant designer from the first moment she sees him. She doesn't seem to be put off by his dogmatic way of ordering breakfast. She’s rather awestruck and even more intrigued. Woodcock, on the other hand, establishes the emotional dominance in their relationship as soon as he takes over her notepad. The scene of their first meeting is significant if we look at Reynolds as a person suffering from bipolar disorder. At that time he's in his manic phase in which he's vulnerable and capable of opening his heart to someone else, with true feelings. Moreover, it establishes the significance of food and being fed by Alma which throughout the film will become tremendously meaningful.
Phantom Thread is not, however, a film about domestic emotional abuse. Of course, Reynolds’ passive aggression, ‘mummy issues,’ and desire to control are omnipresent and at first we can easily assume that it is a story about destructively toxic masculinity and oppressed woman. This is exactly the masterstroke of Anderson’s film, it manages the tension with such virtuosity that we never know what specifically is between the characters. In fact, we can say that Phantom Thread is composed like an orchestra (a clear influence of Hitchcockian montage) with intense moments that are balanced with times of peace and tranquility. Yes, it is a toxic relationship where instability is the norm but Alma and Reynolds are, in fact, equal partners which is subtly accented in the beginning, and becomes clear in the second part of the film. The woman never fully agreed to play the rules Woodcock set. She remained herself; she set herself a goal to win his heart without changing who she really is. When all the efforts encountered dismissal, she learned how to manipulate him. Isn't it a clear opposition to what the victims of domestic abuse are? She was never just a model, a hanger for his dresses and another element of the design of his house. Certainly she devotedly admires him and his art. She also understands and respects herself as a real person, with her needs, desires and fears that she needed to be fulfilled, and she found her way. Through making him sick and vulnerable in the literal and metaphorical sense, she made him need her. Reynolds happily welcomed being regularly fed with poisonous mushrooms and lying in agony for days as he also desperately needed to learn how to need someone, how to share his life with someone real without giving up his ability to create. In contrast he needed his hermetically sealed life to be torn apart in order to truly be. There is an obvious question that comes to mind: can art be created by someone who locks himself away from real feelings?
The cinematography aspect of all films of Anderson is what makes me admire them so much. There Will Be Blood is visual perfection in every frame and Phantom Thread is no different in this case. However, what makes it distinguished is the fact that this time no Director of Photography has been credited. As Robert Elswit, who is responsible for shooting majority of his films including Inherent Vice and There Will Blood was unavailable; Anderson decided to take the lead and became his own cinematographer. However, as he highlights, the look of Phantom Thread is a collaborative work of his long-time gaffer Michael Bauman, camera operator Colin Anderson, and obviously the director himself. The results are truly stunning with the film's 50s special look that they achieved through experimenting with lenses, smoke and filters. I would describe the camera work as romantic: it captures and extracts its precise beauty from every observed confusion, gesture and detail. Visually the film is bathed in bright light and the aura of nostalgia that smoothly circulates between dreams and nightmares. All these elements make Phantom Thread feel and look so stylish and graceful. I can't recall any other film in which the stairwell shots were so dignified, somehow integrated with the surroundings. Thanks to the use of smoke and lo-con filters, the shots seem to be multilayered and perfectly textured.
The film was entirely shot on location, mostly interior with only a few scenes shot outside which put the emphasis on the spectacular British landscapes. The scenes in the woods bring to mind the surrealism of Alice In Wonderland. In contrast, each frame indoors pushes us in a certain direction; either to the corner of the room or stairwell. Moreover, each approach to the character creates intimate feelings and arouses emotions. All of it is accompanied by the eclectic score composed by Johnny Greenwood.
The film was entirely shot on location, mostly interior with only a few scenes shot outside which put the emphasis on the spectacular British landscapes. The scenes in the woods bring to mind the surrealism of Alice In Wonderland. In contrast, each frame indoors pushes us in a certain direction; either to the corner of the room or stairwell. Moreover, each approach to the character creates intimate feelings and arouses emotions. All of it is accompanied by the eclectic score composed by Johnny Greenwood.
Anderson admitted that Phantom Thread is heavily influenced by Hitchock’s Rebecca, Rear Window and Vertigo. The first one is fairly obvious. Both Woodcock and de Winter are obsessed with a dead, female key figure that puts a shadow on their future relationships. They also form romance with younger women positioned lower than then them on the social ladder. The way Fontaine and Alma deal with their husbands are, however, very different. Rear Window heavily explores the notion of voyeurism and role playing in the social theatre. Phantom Thread also does it and it is shown clearly while Reynolds watches Alma through the peephole when she presents his dresses. Moreover, the motif of role-playing is one of the most important in the film. Firstly, Alma is a model and therefore she plays a role that matches the design of the creation she wears. Fashion shows are grand spectacles after all. Next, we've got playing the roles that society puts on us. Reynolds is forced to attend the events and behave according to the rules that come with his social status in order to keep his clients happy. Finally, it's the notion of playing the roles in relationships. Woodcock intended to make Alma an actor in the spectacle of his life, but she refuses to commit to it fully. She brings truth and rebellion to the life and house of Woodcock and therefore proves that only by being truthful can we make a relationship truly happy. On the other hand, they end up creating their own game, a spectacle in which the roles they assigned themselves are the ones that paradoxically allow them to be more real. Similarities to Vertigo are also not difficult to notice. Scotty and Reynolds are obsessed with the idea of the perfect woman and attempt to transform their partners to fit that vision. Interestingly, both films involve disturbing love triangles: in Vertigo we've got Midge and in Phantom Thread there is Cyril who guards the love life of the protagonists.. Additionally, it is easy to observe analogies to Anderson’s previous films, however this time the characters are less personifications of big ideas, almost anthropological studiums but are… more real and human. As I mentioned before, Phantom Thread is highly elegant and gracious in form but Reynolds and Alma are multidimensional and, despite the film’s surrealism, worth caring for. I would also add a similarity of their relationship to the one between Hitchcock and his wife, whose name was also Alma. Famous for his short temper and controlling nature, he was extremely difficult not only to work with but also with which to co-exist. His wife, however, would always remain by his side and support him in whatever crisis he was going through.
Anderson confessed that the initial idea for the film - the main motif of which would be love: committed, loyal and faithful to the fullest - came to him while he was lying ill in bed. The devotion and affection his wife gave him struck him so much that the next day he was on the phone to Daniel Day-Lewis. It was in this way that pre-production of Phantom Thread began. At first, however, Anderson wasn't certain what his protagonist's profession should be. All he knew is that he should be an artist. He hesitated between writer and painter until he read of Cristóbal Balenciaga; a Basque-born designer who is considered as one of the greatest fashion innovators. He led cloistered, hermetic life and was fully consumed by his work. He despised the press and was extremely scrupulous of his clients. He was also known for watching his own fashion show through a door. Anderson omitted his homosexually and focused on the genius' obsessive mind, extraordinarily devoted to his art.
To conclude, Phantom Thread is so far the most sublime, multidimensional and complex work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Despite what most critics say, it doesn't portray toxic masculinity but rather explores the secret matriarchy that exists side-by-side within the patriarchy. It is a tale about a relationship in which both partners find a way to remain themselves while still being there for each other. Phantom Thread is simply a must-watch that will leave you speechless and confused for days. Therefore, it is the kind of film that von Trier once described as a "rock in the shoe". A film with the power to change your perspective and your life.
by Paulina
Anderson confessed that the initial idea for the film - the main motif of which would be love: committed, loyal and faithful to the fullest - came to him while he was lying ill in bed. The devotion and affection his wife gave him struck him so much that the next day he was on the phone to Daniel Day-Lewis. It was in this way that pre-production of Phantom Thread began. At first, however, Anderson wasn't certain what his protagonist's profession should be. All he knew is that he should be an artist. He hesitated between writer and painter until he read of Cristóbal Balenciaga; a Basque-born designer who is considered as one of the greatest fashion innovators. He led cloistered, hermetic life and was fully consumed by his work. He despised the press and was extremely scrupulous of his clients. He was also known for watching his own fashion show through a door. Anderson omitted his homosexually and focused on the genius' obsessive mind, extraordinarily devoted to his art.
To conclude, Phantom Thread is so far the most sublime, multidimensional and complex work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Despite what most critics say, it doesn't portray toxic masculinity but rather explores the secret matriarchy that exists side-by-side within the patriarchy. It is a tale about a relationship in which both partners find a way to remain themselves while still being there for each other. Phantom Thread is simply a must-watch that will leave you speechless and confused for days. Therefore, it is the kind of film that von Trier once described as a "rock in the shoe". A film with the power to change your perspective and your life.
by Paulina
