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New Release Birb: Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson
US Release Date: December 25th, 2017
My First Viewing: January 13th, 2018
Image Credit: movieposter.com

Ten years ago, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis collaborated on There will be Blood, a film many argue could have won Best Picture at that years Oscars. Now they team up again in Phantom Thread, a film which allegedly is Day-Lewis' last, and if that is true, he went out with a bang. 

Day-Lewis stars as Reynolds Woodcock, a dressmaker who is very particular in his routines, the company he keeps, and most importantly to him, his craft. In the film, he meets Alma, played exceptionally by Vicky Krieps. Alma is taken by Reynolds when they first meet when she was a waitress, eventually becoming his muse, and later his wife. The story is not one which has a typical happily ever after ending, but what PT Anderson film ever does. 

While Day-Lewis and Krieps have an exceptional on-screen dynamic, the use of silence in this film is what makes it one of 2017's best. This film is a slow burn, it is quiet, and if you found it to be boring, I can understand why. However, I felt that the quiet made the film dynamic because when there are scenes that required it to be loud, it came with that much more of an impact. 

Phantom Thread is rated R for language. What are your thoughts? Please post in and as always, please be civil. 

-birb

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