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In the glamour of 1950s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and his sister Cyril are at the center of British fashion. Women come and go through Woodcock's life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for Phantom Thread is largely positive, with most reviewers praising its meticulous production design, costume work, and the claustrophobic atmosphere Anderson constructs around a portrait of toxic or asymmetric love. Several critics highlight the film's visual elegance and the psychological complexity of its central relationship. The most consistent reservation is that the film's deliberately slow, inward-turning narrative may test viewer patience and has limited appeal, with at least one reviewer noting it would appeal only to a few.
10 reviews · 9 positive
AI-generated summary of 10 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (10)
"Phantom Thread is breathtakingly elegant. The costumes by Mark Bridges aren't ostentatious but they are drop-dead gorgeous. I usually start noticing clothes in a movie when I'm bored but here costumes are one of the many elements to savour. As is the production design by Mark Tildesley. With extreme precision, director Paul Thomas Anderson creates a beautiful but claustrophobic world. And you are trapped in here with three individuals who are fascinating but not very likeable."Read full review ↗
"The story is set in an elegantly designed house that is brilliantly rendered as a claustrophobic nightmare. This is achieved in no small part due to the efforts of the set decorators, designers, prop masters and the many other unsung heroes of every movie who bring their A-game to this one."Read full review ↗
"It's a story of intrigue and tension in a relationship, and it will leave you wondering how far will you go for love."Read full review ↗
"Daniel Day-Lewis's final film is strange and sadomasochistic, it's Freudian and bizarre. It is also director Paul Thomas Anderson's answer to Fifty Shades of Grey."Read full review ↗
"Unravelling in the splendid but stifling interiors of his grand abode, Phantom Thread barely ventures into fresh air for a break. But it's the most real, most riveting portrait of toxic love you're likely to witness in a long, long time."Read full review ↗
"The narrative spins around itself in ways that will test your patience. But 'Phantom Thread' questions your outlook on love and what it means to different people. It looks at how people tailor themselves in accordance with those they love."Read full review ↗
"Phantom Thread" is a subtly layered romantic melodrama that would appeal to a few."Read full review ↗
"This Daniel Day-Lewis starrer is visually delightful...With Daniel Day-Lewis declaring Phantom Thread to be his last film, it adds a secondary layer of sadness to this story about an artiste learning to "take it easy"."Read full review ↗
"The wrenching tale of a woman's love for a man and a man's love for his work. A dry, comic study of the asymmetries and conflicts at the heart of a marriage. A refined gothic nightmare in the manner of Henry James. A perverse psychological fable of unchecked ego and unhinged desire. That's a partial catalogue, and one that can't quite capture how bizarre this movie is. Or how bizarrely true to life — to art, to love, to itself — it feels."Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Daniel Day-Lewis · Reynolds Woodcock
- Vicky Krieps · Alma
- Lesley Manville · Cyril Woodcock
- Camilla Rutherford · Johanna
- Gina McKee · Countess Henrietta Harding
- Brian Gleeson · Dr. Hardy
- Harriet Sansom Harris · Barbara Rose
- Julia Davis · Lady Baltimore
- Philip Franks · Peter Martin
- Phyllis MacMahon · Tippy
- Richard Graham · George Riley, News of the World
- Silas Carson · Rubio Gurrerro
- Nicholas Mander · Lord Baltimore
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Megan Ellison
- JoAnne Sellar
- Daniel Lupi
- Jonny Greenwood
- Dylan Tichenor
Director
Writer
Music
Editing
Details
- Release Date
- 9 February 2018
- Runtime
- 130 min
- Language
- English
User Ratings & Reviews
1 rating from the community














