Phantom Thread

Focus Features | Release Date: December 25, 2017

7.7	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 547 Ratings

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User Reviews

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stgrunuMar 29, 2018

The second most mediocre movie nominated to this year's Oscars, right behind Call Me By Your Name.

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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OdinsMovieBlogFeb 19, 2018

Overrated Oscar bait. Some solid lines and all around solid performances can't save this style over substance film. I am very sad if this is the last movie that Daniel Day-Lewis does in his career. He is usually so talented at picking hisOverrated Oscar bait. Some solid lines and all around solid performances can't save this style over substance film. I am very sad if this is the last movie that Daniel Day-Lewis does in his career. He is usually so talented at picking his projects, but the script for this film confuses and drags for far too long.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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qMay 19, 2018

As I watched this weird, lumbering tale about eccentric, unlikeable characters inflicting on each other their psychological pathologies, I fell asleep twice and had to rewind for quite a while to find the last scene that looked as though IAs I watched this weird, lumbering tale about eccentric, unlikeable characters inflicting on each other their psychological pathologies, I fell asleep twice and had to rewind for quite a while to find the last scene that looked as though I had watched it before. I dutifully endured the seemingly interminable story of a sick romance between an insufferable twit who dresses up overprivileged but undistinguished women for a living and a ruthlessly manipulative former waitress who manages the herculean task of manifesting even more character flaws than the dressmaker whose life and career she threatens to destroy. All the while, I was thinking, "The critics are going to swoon over this self-consciously artsy-fartsy filmmaking bilge." The story features fictional people almost as personally dysfunctional as many film critics are in real life, and the movie has all of the pretentious high-art characteristics that fascinate filmmaking students in art colleges but are lost on normal moviegoers who are simply seeking an evening of pleasant entertainment. "Phantom Thread" evokes from viewers the same obligatory reaction a premiere performance of a commissioned work draws from a classical music audience on which it is inflicted: sufficient applause to avoid accusations of cretinism for failing to appreciate the finer things of life, accompanied by internal thanksgiving that it's over and that the long suffering audience will never have to experience it again.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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Lrs1215Mar 22, 2018

I enjoyed the individual characters' performances in this movie (and that's what saved it for me). However, the love story itself was very slow and actually quite strange.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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tomo1682Apr 30, 2018

Great acting. Completely boring story. Simply did not care about any of the characters. I obviously didn't get it.

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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imthenoobJan 25, 2018

Maybe my expectations were way too high but I was really disappointed with this movie. Not much really happened plot-wise and with a run time of over 2 hours, It's pretty difficult to sit through. I honestly busted out my phone and wasMaybe my expectations were way too high but I was really disappointed with this movie. Not much really happened plot-wise and with a run time of over 2 hours, It's pretty difficult to sit through. I honestly busted out my phone and was web-browsing for a good 20 minutes or so of this film. There was another guy in the audience who actually fell asleep and his snores held my attention more than this film.

It's such a massive waste of talent. Daniel Day-Lewis is my favourite actor of all time and to give him this kind of send-off is such a disappointment to me. Especially when he thrives off such unique, story-driven character role.… Expand

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

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Brent_MarchantJan 14, 2018

Despite exquisite costume design, some occasionally humorous moments, and fine performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville, this exercise in pretentious self-indulgence passing itself off as audacious art is cold, unengaging andDespite exquisite costume design, some occasionally humorous moments, and fine performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville, this exercise in pretentious self-indulgence passing itself off as audacious art is cold, unengaging and implausible virtually from the outset. This bizarre fusion of "Fifty Shades of Grey," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Beguiled" never gels and leaves viewers wholly unsatisfied by the end of its overlong runtime. It's unfortunate that Day-Lewis chose this vehicle as the performance to cap off his otherwise-brilliant career.… Expand

8 of 13 users found this helpful85

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BeeceeJan 21, 2018

Daniel Day-Lewis does an excellent acting job, as usual, and the sets and costumes are gorgeous. That said, the movie is a study on the relationship between the fashion designer, Reynolds Woodcock, and the two women in his life. It isDaniel Day-Lewis does an excellent acting job, as usual, and the sets and costumes are gorgeous. That said, the movie is a study on the relationship between the fashion designer, Reynolds Woodcock, and the two women in his life. It is generally slow moving, and all three main characters are very unpleasant - not the kind of people one would ever want to encounter. The relationship between Cyril and Woodcock initially remains ambiguous, to the detriment of understanding the movie. I would also agree that there is a strong and unpleasant thread of sadomasochism in the relationship between Alma and Woodcock, although there is no physical violence.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

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netflicFeb 12, 2018

A story of a high fashion dress designer and a model he was looking for.
The latest film by Paul Thomas Anderson (aka PTA), film director famous for "Magnolia", "There Will Be Blood", and many others.
There is beautiful scenery here (not muchA story of a high fashion dress designer and a model he was looking for.
The latest film by Paul Thomas Anderson (aka PTA), film director famous for "Magnolia", "There Will Be Blood", and many others.
There is beautiful scenery here (not much of it though), gorgeous dresses, outstanding performance from leads, great casting, meticulous details.
On the other hand, dragging, slow, boring plot. It is not unusual for Anderson to dive into psychics of obsessive, troubled psychopaths but this movie left me cold as stone. Too many threads are left untied.
The film pretends to be artsy but rather weird. A weird film about weird people. If it is a love story, that love has to be taken into quotes.
I would give this film many technical Oscar nominations but definitely not the best feature.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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Odin777Feb 17, 2018

Overrated Oscar bait. Some solid lines and all around solid performances can't save this style over substance film.

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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TrevorsViewFeb 1, 2018

Paul Thomas Anderson’s instant classics, There Will be Blood and Boogie Nights, gained well-deserved attention alright, yet his other acclaimed works, including Inherent Vice and Punch-Drunk Love are less noticed by the public. It’sPaul Thomas Anderson’s instant classics, There Will be Blood and Boogie Nights, gained well-deserved attention alright, yet his other acclaimed works, including Inherent Vice and Punch-Drunk Love are less noticed by the public. It’s understandable; I particularly found it hard to care about the bond between the main couple in Anderson’s newest project, Phantom Thread. Though one can still greatly appreciate the artistry created here to depict desire above devotion beneath fashion’s puppet strings.

Several scenes express the same meticulous directorial attention of stitching a hem, so much so that even a mundane scene such as spreading butter on toast stresses the senses. Anderson’s vigilant craft demonstrates the sly nature of his first-hand man, Daniel-Day Lewis, through the quietest actions. Day-Lewis’s seamstress role feels he never was meant to marry, perhaps influenced by London’s fashion scene, although his inner conviction seems challenged once the dialogue between his new concubine arouses a need to restrict another's lust.

The visual cues suggest the look of a live stark-white studio photoshoot under diffused harsh lights to evoke heated passion, a sensation mellowed out by a gentle, warm fireplace glow until the cold breakfast table counteracts the calmness. Soon later into the runtime, snow graces its presence, completing the emotional glide along the film’s distressed ribbon. The supposed visual flaws in the ugly wallpaper heightened by the high ISO setting simply add to the visual flavor, making the whole sum of its parts reflect the era.

Again, the fashions really tell the story; the costumes designed by Mark Bridges (The Artist, Inherent Vice) rock to the wind of the citizens’ visualized longings, the wardrobes’ shapes and tones either emphasizing the female form for lust or simplifying the appearance for true love.

Beyond the visual elements, the musical score by Jonny Greenwood (Inherent Vice, There Will be Blood) orchestrates the beauty of the piano and the haunt of the strings to anticipate danger in the room based on the level of voluptuous nature. It almost seems like the crypt threaded Greenwood’s tones to trigger your own cravings by ringing your ears until they turn a deep crimson hue.

Each character’s realized past comes from whatever they could or could not control including the seamstress’s new concubine, who is introduced by saying she gave every piece of herself as he forced her to work on only four hours of sleep. Meanwhile, the seamstress’s house servant, played by one of this year’s Oscar nominees, Lesley Manville, sustains a delicate eye to keep our attention toward the subjects of managed focus in the home.

However, one critical problem damages the overall production: it seldom comments on present day issues, instead exploiting the time to show off pretty European clothes. The full reality of lustful men at the time gets the boot, both in comparing it to the women they took advantage of alongside how it links back with today.

Phantom Thread thus should be expected to fall out of public memory because it uses an autocratic political stand in service of the Oscars it thinks it deserves. Forget aiming to please multiple generations with a compassionate story anyone can see themselves in, it only has its sights on the temporary 90th Annual Academy Awards with its all-White setup in mind, since Paul Thomas Anderson clearly knows deep down that the voters fancy prestigious British motion pictures.

Consequently, Phantom Thread romanticizes two selfish leads, turning out an orgasmic experience rather than a compassionate one. So, in regard to the Weinstein scandals plaguing Hollywood right now, Phantom Thread does more harm than good. Think back to Fifty Shades of Grey, the unhealthy relationship depicted in Phantom Thread perfectly recreates those torturous sex games, except in a classier fashion. Why then exactly did this score a Best Picture nomination while James Franco, a recent actor accused of sexual misconduct, got snubbed a nomination? It makes no sense.

Hopefully, after time dissipates, one can enjoy Phantom Thread’s artistry. Hopefully, after a decade or two, this movie won’t scream, “Oscar-bait,” but be appreciated for how the well-staged tension gives a strong sample of the direction from the brilliant Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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