Nić widmo

Are you really all fine with the ending that almost made me knock a star off my rating? Such a detailed and focused, professionally cold and intelligent study of the relationship between two people – one from the farthest corner of Mars and the other from the farthest part of Venus – with such brilliantly escalating tension and a creeping threat of tragedy... coming to such inadequately banal nothingness that, in terms of the script, does not resolve anything? Yes, that’s what would probably happen in real life, but I expect something more from P.T. Anderson’s movie. All three actors are wonderful and the constant use of Greenwood’s music with a touch of classicism is interesting, helping to set the movie in its period and harmonizing with the distinguished character of Woodcock’s robes. (04.03.2018)

It's been a long, long time since I've seen a film that flows so gracefully. P.T. Anderson is an Artist, Day-Lewis displays an excruciating lightness of acting, Vicky Krieps is a tremendous acting discovery, and the music, the brilliant music, suits the film as well as Woodcock's dress suits the women. The way the story builds up and ends cynically was a feast for my senses and black-humored soul. Fantastic experience! (12.04.2018)

Do you know that feeling you get when you watch a movie with Daniel Day-Lewis (who has been awarded several Oscars) in his final role, you see that he is absolutely enjoying himself acting-wise but at the same time, you know that everything else in the movie is brutally average, uninteresting and absolutely pointless? You don’t? Well, watch Phantom Thread, then. (03.03.2018)

It pretends to be a posh romance targeted solely at a distinguished audience, which even the silent coughing takes as the grossest vulgarity. However, nothing could be further from the truth, because beneath the surface it boils through the intense subliminal tension of relationships, from which the Mrštík brothers would be captivated by the black-humorous bliss. It is definitely not for everyone (but not in the sense that it is targeted at more demanding viewer), there are a lot of those who will probably like the first half that is more tragic whereas other may prefer the second one that is more pathological and vice versa. At the same time, they go hand in hand and one without the other would not work. Day-Lewis fully deserves to be praised for this performance. It´s not surprising though. However, the fact that the duo Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville is not outshined by him, nor they are just a sparring partner to him, but they manage to keep up with him, despite less grateful roles, is not so often mentioned. But it should have been mentioned. As for Anderson, it is slightly worse, because from his complex filmmaking performance it is difficult to determine whether he is a better cameraman, screenwriter or director. For most of the film makers the Phantom Thread movie would be the highlight of their career and for the rest of their professional life they would strive to make something as good as that. As for Anderson, this movie is the third from the end. And he is still at the beginning of his career. (31.01.2018)

The aesthetics and thoroughness are so phenomenal that I only regret the amount of space Reynolds' ego receives in the story. If his repetitive manners and utmost despotism were replaced by the richer background of Alma or Cyril, this deliberately unpaced, original, and falsely dramatized display of audiovisual beauty would perhaps have reached even the unattainable. (31.01.2018)

This is what Basic Instinct could have looked like in the sixties. Lots of dark thoughts and inner motivations wrapped up in the irresistibly aristocratic style of the mid-twentieth century British bourgeoisie. A clash of two completely different personalities, a duel of two strong characters, a battle of an outwardly powerful man vs an inwardly even more powerful woman. There's no point in addressing the fact that Paul Thomas Anderson is a master of emotions, Daniel Day-Lewis plays "the grand finale" and Vicky Krieps doesn't act but just "is". Is there any point in addressing why this strong melodrama, heading towards a crushing finale, suddenly turns towards black-humour in the very end? That is such a shame! If that doesn't bother you, you’ll have a five-star experience. (02.04.2018)

The relationship between an anal-retentive insensitive machine and a romantic honest soul could hardly be portrayed more convincingly. Anderson lets the story flow easily and puts Woodcock’s daily routine front-stage, gradually increasing the intensity of the conflicts that will so thoroughly turn upside down the world of the protagonist. The narrative structure is held without a single stumble and the superb music and great performances make this film something more than just a cold work of art – its coldness and focus are so remarkable that I almost forgave it for not keeping my full attention in all the scenes and that the end arrived at a moment when I still didn’t want it. I might forgive that with time, but now I can humbly admire the surgical precision of the direction and pray that films like this will not be only an exception. 85% (28.01.2019)

Phantom Thread is a prime example of a film with obvious Oscar ambitions, which it manages to pull off thanks to convincing performances (Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville) and a solid premise. However, despite these quality attributes, what bothered me personally about the film was its overly plodding pace and the absence of the more tense scenes that the script literally invited. In terms of acting, I liked the dinner for two and the delirium in illness scenes. I'm aware that I witnessed an acting tour-de-force and a well-written piece, but I was not captivated and intrigued by its tones enough to go higher with my rating. (09.04.2020)

The film was mind-numbingly boring. The already slow pace of the story was slowed down even more by long shots without any action, in which the highlight was a creaking door. Given such circumstances, the running time was simply too much to bear. The only thing I appreciated about the film was Daniel Day-Lewis' performance and great costumes. (12.09.2018)

Acting-wise, there's probably nothing much to fault with Phantom Thread, although it's too bad that Daniel Day-Lewis is saying goodbye, but it's his choice and it's a good send-off, showing once again what a great actor he is. But plot-wise, the film failed to pull me in as much as I had hoped, but that's almost always the case with Anderson's films. (18.02.2018)

I never would have imagined I could like an intimate two-hour film about a British fashion designer in the 50s so much before seeing this (which I irrationally put off for a long time). But P.T. Anderson is an "uberdirector" and handles the entire medium of film much like Reynolds Woodcock handles cloth. That manic obsession with perfectionism is indicative of both the Daniel-Day Lewis character and P.T. Anderson. In some ways, Phantom Thread is an anxiously delicate (and brilliantly) told story about the contrast between an obsessive personality and a seemingly innocent and gentle soul. The relationship of the central couple is, for me anyway, one of the most bizarre relationships I've ever seen in a film. (24.05.2020)