Read Negative User Reviews for Phantom Thread

3

tkc88Jun 22, 2018

Paul Thomas Anderson films are the kind that you either love or passionately dislike.

I fall into the latter category (with the exception of The Master, which was a tightly made drama). While some of the cinematography is beautiful, thePaul Thomas Anderson films are the kind that you either love or passionately dislike.

I fall into the latter category (with the exception of The Master, which was a tightly made drama). While some of the cinematography is beautiful, the dialogue is painfully unrelatable and not written in a way that I have ever heard people speak in my lifetime. The performances hit the mark in that they achieve what PTA is going for, however the characters are not compelling enough for you to invest your time and/or emotion in to. There is no character arc to speak of; tired old themes of mother issues are forced down your throat with no actual pay off. The story never really progresses until the final two minutes, and by that time you're left wondering why you have invested two hours of your time watching these horrible, uninteresting people.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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1

mskdApr 27, 2018

I expected this movie to focus more on the glamour but there was no depth to the characters, only the appearance of depth. We never learned anything significant about them, but by the end I didn't care because their actions were pointless andI expected this movie to focus more on the glamour but there was no depth to the characters, only the appearance of depth. We never learned anything significant about them, but by the end I didn't care because their actions were pointless and empty, meant to impress the inexperienced. There is nothing interesting about selfish, ignoble, infantile characters no matter how beautiful the setting or strong the acting. At least there could have been a lesson, a point made, anything. Where are the dramas we used to love? Where is the soul? This was postmodernist garbage. Lazy, unimpressive writing. The glamorization of weak and ugly personalities with no redemption or lesson and no further point but to appeal to the vanity of the audience is becoming such a turn off this will probably be the last movie I watch for a long time.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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3

2morovianJan 19, 2019

I was initially engaged and hopeful that this was going to be a good film, especially because Daniel Day Lewis was featured and the sets, landscapes and costumes were magnificent. But the film just loses tempo and breaks down due to itsI was initially engaged and hopeful that this was going to be a good film, especially because Daniel Day Lewis was featured and the sets, landscapes and costumes were magnificent. But the film just loses tempo and breaks down due to its uninspired meandering and an utterly bizarre left turn 3/4 of the way in, which essentially yanked the film out of the genre it was in and placed it, unbelievably, in another...as if the writers just ran out of ideas as to how to conclude and just grasped at something as the clock was ticking towards a deadline.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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3

SadiePFeb 7, 2018

It is amazing to read the reviews & the difference of opinion! We were VERY disappointed, thought the film was slow, boring, stupid and couldn't wait for it to be over. Someone clapped in the theater at the end & I heard another say, "theyIt is amazing to read the reviews & the difference of opinion! We were VERY disappointed, thought the film was slow, boring, stupid and couldn't wait for it to be over. Someone clapped in the theater at the end & I heard another say, "they are clapping because it is finally over!" Woodcock & his love Elma were a very dysfunctional mismatched couple (age & temperament) & Woodcock was pretentious, self-indulgent, spoiled - actually a little crazy. Daniel Day Lewis was indeed super in his performance, along with the sets & costuming, (though we really were not impressed with HIS dress designs as a whole) all sets & scenery were well done for the time period presented. Woodcock's sister, Cyril, was his stability & caretaker - we liked her. I can understand the Oscar nomination for Lewis but no way, no how is this film worthy of a best picture award!… Expand

6 of 7 users found this helpful61

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2

psyberdelicApr 13, 2018

I'll give it a couple of points on the look of the film. But... I found it boring and not at all engaging. What a bunch of upper-crusty jerks. Skipped from scene to scene and don't think I missed a thing. Not worth the time and I got itI'll give it a couple of points on the look of the film. But... I found it boring and not at all engaging. What a bunch of upper-crusty jerks. Skipped from scene to scene and don't think I missed a thing. Not worth the time and I got it for free.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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1

ourtimehascomeMay 8, 2018

Overrated and passionless, Phantom Thread is boring Oscar bait. Greenwood's soundtrack is fantastic. But the story is trite, and the characters uninteresting. Anderson's worst film to date.

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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1

CorregatedFeb 12, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The showing I saw had a preview for the latest 50 Shades of Grey. Phantom Threads is like 50 Shades for the NPR crowd. Distasteful characters find twisted love through rudeness and brutality amidst opulent surroundings. At least 50 Shades seems to have a handsome man in it. I rewatched the misleading preview, which contained the few romantic scenes but none of the misery. If film makers want to create such depressing pieces, at least they should warn us.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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0

peteowen1Feb 13, 2018

Poorly written characters, weak story-line. Boring, pretentious and a waste of 2 hours.

7 of 11 users found this helpful74

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0

SebastianGarciaMar 3, 2018

Poorly written characters, weak story-line. Boring, pretentious and a waste of 2 hours

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

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3

hellacriticalFeb 17, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This film could easily be misconstrued as a comedy. The lines were so stiff and unnatural that they became humorous. There is also way too much staring. I'm pretty sure about an hour and 5 minutes of the movie could have been shaved off if the characters just stopped staring at each other and pausing before they spoke. Don't get me wrong, that can be sometimes powerful, but it was not at all utilized correctly in this film. It doesn't work when literally every character does it.

The whole film is a demonstration of insanely toxic masculinity. For some reason, Vicky Krieps' character, Alma, finds this insanely attractive. It isn't until she meets Daniel Day-Lewis' character that she starts to feel good about herself. It's insanely offensive, and she is definitely no one's feminist role model. The fact that people are calling this a "love story" is disgusting.

None of the characters were likable so I found the whole thing quite boring. It is difficult to pinpoint what parts I hated exactly, because they were all equally forgettable. Paul Thomas Anderson's characters had no personalities whatsoever. They were "quirky" and "strange," but that's not a personality.

I understand that this is supposed to be a haunting, semi-psychopathic film, but the way to really make that work is to make it as close to real-life as possible. Making it seem like it could happen in real life makes it truly scary. However, this did not seem like real life to me, because everything was just so flat. The dialogue was unnatural and disappointing.

The two reasons that I'm giving this even a 3 is because the cinematography and the costume design was beautiful. I really wish that more was done with the clothing aspect. The story had so much potential, and I kept thinking of ways that the movie could have been so much better, but alas, PTA did not take that route.

Overall, incredibly disappointing. Because of the poor quality of this film, I hope this isn't actually Daniel Day-Lewis' final film, for his sake.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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0

zedzdedFeb 15, 2019

I love Anderson, I love Day Lewis but zzzzz oh god what a snooze fest. Maybe it’s cause I find fashion so intrinsically uninteresting that when it’s on a pedestal as an art form I want to sleep...

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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3

gxm143Apr 13, 2018

I'd been looking forward to this film but for me it was the prototypical critical darling that sucks. Very strange, quite boring plot. DD Lewis is great as always, but I wish he wasn't attracted to this director (I didn't like There Will BeI'd been looking forward to this film but for me it was the prototypical critical darling that sucks. Very strange, quite boring plot. DD Lewis is great as always, but I wish he wasn't attracted to this director (I didn't like There Will Be Blood either). The plot resolution is not believable, nor did I care for the fate of the extremely unlikable characters. My wife was even disappointed with the fashion / creativity element she had anticipated enjoying. There is no background to the characters, so it is hard to know or sympathize with them. Even the soundtrack is irritating. I have seen 8 of 9 2017 best pic nominees (all but CMBYN) and this movie did not deserve to be in that class, imo.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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3

204953aniticaJan 19, 2018

Phantom Thread is an extremely slow film. I couldn't wait until it finished. The movie is as confusing as Daniel Day-Lewis character in the film. There is no question that Lewis performed beautifully but the movie had too many unasweredPhantom Thread is an extremely slow film. I couldn't wait until it finished. The movie is as confusing as Daniel Day-Lewis character in the film. There is no question that Lewis performed beautifully but the movie had too many unaswered questions so you left the theater in a limbo state. I wouldn't recommend this film. Wait till it comes to Netflick.… Expand

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

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0

SID15762Apr 2, 2018

one of the worst film i have ever seen....simply waste of my time........................................................................................

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

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3

The4thBillboardJan 27, 2018

I have seen all of the movies up for the Oscar best picture and they were all great....except for this one. It's the type of movie that takes 4 years of brainwashing at film school to make you think you enjoy it. First 30 minutes were notI have seen all of the movies up for the Oscar best picture and they were all great....except for this one. It's the type of movie that takes 4 years of brainwashing at film school to make you think you enjoy it. First 30 minutes were not bad but it has about 45 minutes of good material and a lot of boring filler. I have seen a lot of artsy movies that I have really enjoyed and wanted to like this one but I just can't.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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0

bentearwalkingFeb 24, 2018

people who like this movie are as rich as they are stupid. it gives off that posh sense of "oh you wouldn't understand it unless you are high fashion" waste of time. amazed that daniel day can appear so different in each movie, amazed at thepeople who like this movie are as rich as they are stupid. it gives off that posh sense of "oh you wouldn't understand it unless you are high fashion" waste of time. amazed that daniel day can appear so different in each movie, amazed at the great music from jonny greenwood, appalled by this dry and boring waste of life plot with a poop ending. borrrrrring.… Expand

4 of 12 users found this helpful48

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2

AxeTJan 21, 2018

From one of the most over-rated hack sham writer directors of the last twenty years that jackass critics and industry fools continue to praise showing their utter pretentious idiocy this delivers exactly what was expected: pure selfFrom one of the most over-rated hack sham writer directors of the last twenty years that jackass critics and industry fools continue to praise showing their utter pretentious idiocy this delivers exactly what was expected: pure self indulgent pretentious nonsense devoid of narrative craft, artistic flair, and anything remotely resembling entertainment (good movies and all art entertains no matter the content). While it does get some chuckles from Daniel Day Lewis's formed character and delivery of some admittedly funny audacious dialogue he still should be embarrassed to have this pretentious fraud of a movie stand as his last before retirement.

* note: I do not generally pay to see these award contenders (what a joke) since my access is free. I saw a 35mm film presentation of this which along with his preferred 70mm is the luddite director's pretentious carnival barker hoax of exhibition medium and it looked awful and was at unarguably less than half the resolution of current digital projection standards, like watching an old beat up film in the early seventies not in the great aesthetic sense of that period but in the deficient inferior movie theater technology of those times compared to now. Pretentious is the word.… Expand

7 of 28 users found this helpful721

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3

GreatMartinJan 23, 2018

Being this is, supposedly, Daniel Day-Lewis’s last movie before he retires I wish he had retired after doing “Lincoln” and winning an Oscar, though he is retiring with an Oscar nomination for his role as Reynolds Jeremiah Woodcock.

WoodcockBeing this is, supposedly, Daniel Day-Lewis’s last movie before he retires I wish he had retired after doing “Lincoln” and winning an Oscar, though he is retiring with an Oscar nomination for his role as Reynolds Jeremiah Woodcock.

Woodcock is at the center of British fashion dressing royalty, movie stars, rich women and socialites with the House of Woodstock along with his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) who manages the business and, to a certain extent, him. He is, and seems to boast about it, a confirmed bachelor and has women coming into his life and his sister getting rid of them when he is tired of them.

Taking a break he goes to his out of town cottage and in a restaurant, he meets a clumsy waitress, Alma, played by Vicky Krieps, starts dating her and she becomes his muse, lover and then wife. His falling in love with her disrupts his life and his work. As Cyril tells Alma her brother likes quiet in the morning, especially at breakfast, and she is noisy such as scraping and cutting her toast, noisily pouring her tea and stirring her spoon just for starters.

Soon he is using all this ‘noise’ as excuses to end what they have and looking at his sister to do her job which is to send Alma away but then he gets sick and she takes care of him only endearing her to him.

At that point, I lost it. I lost what was going on. I lost interest in the film and Daniel Day-Lewis and the two women and the fashions but, also, where it was going if it was going anywhere.

When I got home I read three rave reviews to see what I had missed and one reviewer referred to Hitchcock’s “Rebecca”, another to Gene Tierney in “Dragonwyck” while another mentioned films made in the 1940s and 1950s and I could understand those references. The film starts with the song “My Foolish Heart” from the 1950 movie starring Susan Hayward and Dana Andrews, which was a favorite of mine and I wish I had seen that instead of “Phantom Thread” which takes place in the 1950s probably the reason for the song.

For the record it was announced today that “Phantom Thread” received the following Oscar nominations: 1) Best Picture 2) Best Actor 3) Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson 4) Best Supporting Actress Lesley Manville 5) Best Costume Design Mark Bridges and 6) original score Johnny Greenwind.… Expand

2 of 8 users found this helpful26

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3

jhepSep 28, 2019

This movie feels more like a play than a film; Pinter-like with lots of ominous undertones i.e., fashion designer Reynolds being told by sister Cyril not to pick a fight with her because she will annihilate him !! The story gradually loosesThis movie feels more like a play than a film; Pinter-like with lots of ominous undertones i.e., fashion designer Reynolds being told by sister Cyril not to pick a fight with her because she will annihilate him !! The story gradually looses its way and by the time we get to the final denouement with its twist on “the-way-a-man’s-heart-is-through-his-stomach” you get the feeling that director Anderson has been playing a bit of a practical joke on us. Let’s hope Alma’s cooking tips don’t catch on with any disenchanted housewives in the audience !… Expand

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3

KenRNov 29, 2018

What can you say....Awards galore, National Board of Review, marvellous lighting, images, great performances, direction, costumes, interesting music score and on it goes...Now, what about the story? What was Paul Thomas Anderson thinking –What can you say....Awards galore, National Board of Review, marvellous lighting, images, great performances, direction, costumes, interesting music score and on it goes...Now, what about the story? What was Paul Thomas Anderson thinking – had he perhaps just watched ‘Suspicion’ and a string of other classics with similar themes? So then, is this the great love story – about two perfectly unsuited people who meet in rather unbelievable circumstances - then grow into a love-hate relationship that develops into deeper territory with every inflicted irritation? Even several odd side plots like names sewn into garments, the controlling sister, the ghostly mother fixation etc, tend to go little further than the development desk – all interesting, but never fully explored. Now enters the High Point:– let’s try ‘poisoning’ to assist the relationship in its rise to all-time classic proportions! And, if at first you don’t succeed – attempt it multiple times till you reach the desired mutual loving attraction!

This is bizarrely weird in any measure of the written word. Still, it’s just weird enough to gain full adoration of today’s ‘art society’ and the Academy! Not to be missed - magnificent pretentious ambiguity cannot be denied its position in high creative circles. The treatment is too heavy to work as comedy and too weak for great drama. Just approach with caution if you seek entertainment grounded in a little more honest believability. Daniel Day-Lewis may need to take another ‘last’ role - to atone for this lame foolishness no matter how technically perfect it all may be. It’s interesting to find critic, Michael Woods revealing observations (London Review) as one of the only honest ‘stand-out-from-the-crowd’ assessments – just hope he doesn’t eventually accept membership into ‘the club’...… Expand

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2

MoviezNPMar 7, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of the most boring and on the whole, one of the most awfully pretentious films ever made, I am surprised how "Phantom Thread" is in the 2017's top 10 list of National Board of Review. It feels like a completely typical period piece that was done to death and felt like it was trying hard to get nominated for Oscars. .
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Good : Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps have given a very good performance, can't take anything away from them. During all the repetitions (which is talked about in "bad"), a brief character development of Lesley Manville's character is there. Else, it is totally void of any interesting characters. It's just the performances that make us a little interested in the movie. So, the only merits are the performances of the lead actors, the production and costume design. .
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Bad : In simple words, it is just "try hard" movie that was simply made for being nominated because it looks so different than other ones. The characterization given to Day-Lewis was not bad, but at the same not something that we have not seen before. And, Krieps's character is obviously the polar opposite of what Day-Lewis's character is. The way they fall in love is done very abruptly. And, during that and after that, all the movie does is repetition. A whole lot of plotlines are simply showing their polarizing characters and just that. Then, we don't know why but Krieps poisons Day-Lewis kind of like to .... develop some romance, I guess. Then, after that plotline is over, we get the repetition ..... again! Then towards the end, he agrees to get poisoned because that's the only way he can be with her, because he is some sort of a terrible stubborn ..... I think. It doesn't sound so bad, but it's done quite horribly. It was the same thing in a slightly different situation. The storytelling is incredibly pretentious. Nothing is redeeming about this movie. .
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Conclusion : I still have an opinion that "The Shape of Water" is the worst best picture ever. But it wasn't the worst nominee in that category. Guess which one was? Yup. "Phantom Thread". In short, it's a ridiculous period piece and a ridiculous romantic movie that doesn't even have the most generic romance. .
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Rating. .
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Score : 2.1/10
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Grade : E+… Expand

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