This was an excellent movie. Being written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, I knew it would be a good movie, but I didn’t know what to expect in a movie about a dress designer in London during the 1950s. I strongly suspect that the inspiration for the story came from years of reading fairy tales to his children, as a fairy tale is precisely the sort of story Phantom Thread is. We’re a long ways from Boogie Nights. I mean, I love Boogie Nights, and though I’m not suggesting Phantom Thread is any more appropriate for children than his ode to the porn community, I suspect it will wear better and longer.
The Master remains my favorite of Anderson’s films, even one of my favorite films ever, being a generous portrayal of the Master/Slave relationship comparable to Tolstoy. Phantom Thread, if not (to my eyes) quite as great a film, is yet a greater surprise, where in the end what matters most are the life and death stakes of marriage, a fairy tale for what happens after the fairy tale. No, I have no idea what I’m talking about. Still, don’t miss it.
I dunno, I might put both There Will Be Blood and Magnolia ahead of this one. It was good, all right, and like Maudie, it was a film about an artist that turned out to be about a marriage. Unlike Maudie, it’s not big on love – as opposed to need – as the glue that holds it together.
I’m with Broderick on There Will Be Blood, but this sounds excellent as well. Thanks, Quin.
It’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to PTA. Heck, I though Inherent Vice was great. Need to see Magnolia again, which I liked … but damn, was it long.