Renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and his sister Cyril are at the center of British fashion in 1950s London -- dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites and debutantes...
Anderson's movies are never coherent enough to appeal to the mainstream, but this one is so ravishing and meticulous and exquisite that you have no difficulty ignoring its inherent lack of logic.
It's tantamount to cinematic transubstantiation and Anderson and Day-Lewis deliver, turning blood to bread and water to wine, leaving us all but paralyzed.
Reflecting Day-Lewis' cadaverous appearance, there is no fat on this lean and sinuous affair which is far removed from cuddly Sunday night TV drama. It's a shocking and intense tale of obsession, with alarming moments of humour.
If Anderson's The Master was a swirling miasma, Phantom Thread is an unforgiving dress. It presents an ideal and even inspires wonder, but it does make breathing difficult, and heaven help you if all you want is to have a good time.
You know, I don't even want to try to understand how Paul Thomas Anderson knows what to do to make exquisite films. Watching Phantom Thread, I just want to let him get on with it.
The attention to detail, the use of certain colors, the lush and vibrant photography of the dresses Reynolds makes and the clothes he wears - they're honestly breathtaking.
Daniel Day-Lewis has turned in a measured, masterful performance of a flawed man who could be tender and kind, petulant and dismissive, and deeply hurtful. What a swan song.
Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread" casts a remarkable spell; it wraps around you, like a delicately scented cashmere shawl woven from music and color and astonishing faces.
Phantom Thread is a gorgeous film loaded with so many visual details that it requires multiple viewings to absorb them all, and to process and digest the unsettling relationship between Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps).
If you go in expecting a Daniel Day-Lewis movie, you'll walk away with a Vicky Krieps movie, and we're all the better for it. The Luxembourgian actress will sweep you off your feet.
