Phantom Thread is a film directed by PT Anderson, starring Daniel Day Lewis, in what is supposedly his last film, as Reynolds Woodcock, a world renowned dressmaker in 1950’s London. Reynolds meets a young waitress, Alma Elson, portrayed by Vicky Krieps, and they quickly develop an increasingly unconventional romance. Reynolds lives for his craft and becomes very frustrated with anything that takes away from his time working, Alma struggles to thrive in a relationship where all of the affection seems to not be reciprocated. They find difficulties trying to learn to love each other despite their differences in character and behavior.

Phantom Thread was technically distinguished on all fronts, sound design, cinematography, lighting, and the haunting score by Jonny Greenwood all came together to make for a pleasurable viewing experience. The plot of this movie is a slow burn and moves at a pace that some may find boring, and sometimes is very hard to follow. At the end of the story I was confused and unsure of what had happened but I knew that I enjoyed it and felt that it would take time to fully appreciate and understand the meaning of this film.

As far as the performances go, Daniel Day Lewis went all in, as usual, and delivered a beautiful performance as this damaged, bitter character. Day Lewis was a sight to behold in this film and although it is reportedly his final role, I hope that he will continue to work in film for many years to come as he truly is one of a kind. Vicky Krieps, the young love interest of Day Lewis’s character provided an equally convincing and powerful performance, at times on par or even outshining Reynolds when they shared the screen. I’d never seen Krieps in a major role before and I am very excited to see her in projects in the future.

All in all, this film touches on themes of love, dedication, persistence, death, fear, and isolation in an unconventional and original way and is a beautiful cinematic experience but admittedly is not for everybody. I will definitely be revisiting this one at some point in the future.