I previously wrote an article about how Greta Gerwig’s masterpiece, Lady Bird, was my favorite film of 2017, but it looks like I’ll have to retract that.

I’ve now seen Phantom Thread (three times as of January 24th, 2018,) and not only is it my new favorite film of 2017, I consider it the highest quality film I have seen that was released in the last year. I was taken back by how beautiful the entire production was from start to finish. Like “La La Land” from 2016, this film had me leaving the theater truly affected, and it certainly deserves its Best Picture nomination Phantom Thread was nominated for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score and Best Picture by the Academy.

This film is not what you think it is. Based on the trailers, you might think it's an artsy-fartsy romantic period-piece thing that's only for arthouse fans.

News flash: It's not.

Phantom Thread is the eighth film that Paul Thomas Anderson both wrote and directed (others being There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, and Punch Drunk Love,) and Phantom Thread was the film that got Anderson for Best Director.

The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, a dress designer in London who views himself as a creator or artist. He has a very set routine and plan, not only for himself, but for others. Day-Lewis has proclaimed that this would be his last performance, and it was a good one, earning him a Best Actor nomination for it.

Thread also stars Vicki Krieps as Alma, a woman who Woodcock happens to meet at a restaurant. Alma is more of a shy, innocent woman and Krieps captures that persona masterfully with just the slightest mannerisms and movements to make it convincing.

Woodcock and Alma engage in a rather charming conversation where he persuades Alma to have dinner with him. The two then engage in an odd, somewhat romantic relationship where Woodcock makes dresses for Alma.

Even while they’re technically in a relationship, though, there’s always this implicit distance Anderson creates between them.

Lesley Manville stars as Woodcock’s sister Ceril who really acts as her brother’s henchman, though she still stands up to him.

The performances in this film all around are excellent, and I was incredibly shocked to see Phantom Thread receive no nominations in the Screen Actors Guild awards, seeing that the Academy gave nods to both Day-Lewis and Manville. There’s not a single performance in this film that’s not great.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, Focus Features

However, what I find to be the best part of this film is Jonny Greenwood’s score, which was also nominated for an Academy Award. Greenwood does an outstanding job of enhancing the emotions the film hopes to elicit, which, after all, is a score’s main job. The composer’s beautiful motifs and themes are very simplistic, with many tunes being comprised of mainly piano, but these tunes are exquisitely simplistic.

Costuming is also an amazing part of this film, with every dress and design fitting seamlessly into the time period, and in my opinion is a shoe-in for Best Costume Design.

Many times a piece will begin with a simple piano melody, introduce a string orchestra, and sometimes intense percussion. It’s really something one must hear for themselves, and the score alone is worth the price of admission. While I’ll admit the score for The Shape of Water is excellent, I’m convinced that Greenwood’s score for Phantom Thread is 2017's best.

The main aspect that I particularly enjoy about critiquing “arthouse” films is how they can be interpreted. Within Phantom Thread, Anderson looks to communicate many themes, including making a relationship work, the obscurity of human autonomy and routine, superstition, toxic relationships, and all this while also displaying that the prevention of change and variability in life is impossible.

SPOILERS AHEAD

You have been warned…

Relating to superstition, one of my favorite parts of the film is when Alma is working on the dress that was accidentally destroyed by Woodcock. She finds a hidden message of “never cursed,” relating to the superstition Woodcock referenced earlier in the film: an unmarried woman who touches a wedding dress will never marry. We know this to be untrue by the end of the film, but I thought it was a really clever addition and a nice use of foreshadowing.

Phantom Thread is also a somewhat twisted commentary on toxic relationships. By the end of the film, we understand that Alma has a touch of psychopathy and Woodcock knowingly eats the poison omelet so that Alma can nurture him back to health.

The past was the best time they had together as a couple. Both of them want desperately to be loved but look for it in potentially harmful ways. I feel that Anderson uses this unique relationship to convey that every relationship is different and that every relationship requires compromise and work at some point.

Anderson also makes sure that the audience understands the sacred nature of Woodcock’s routine so that he can eventually make the audience understand how obscure human autonomy and routine really is. I found this to be the most prevalent of all the themes presented in the film.

Towards the third act, Alma asks to go dancing for New Year’s Eve, to which Woodcock, who hates surprises, irritatingly says that he’s going to stay home and work before becoming increasingly conflicted. Should he go out of his routine and comfort zone to go and dance with the woman he loves? We later see he does.

Through this, Anderson hopes to communicate that one cannot achieve goals, especially true love, by just playing their own game. One must step outside of their own world to truly make a difference in their own life.

A subtle instance of this is how Woodcock closes almost every door behind him. When Alma follows, she leaves the doors open. This symbolizes the closing off of Woodcock’s life.

Earlier in the film, we see Woodcock look through a peephole in a door at Alma modeling a dress. Woodcock admiring Alma’s beauty represents a goal that has been set in front of Woodcock. In order to attain that goal, he must open the “door” and stop closing himself off from everyone and everything.

These symbolic devices represent one reason why I love film so much: I love these deeper meanings.

Outside of the awesome themes and commentary Phantom Thread, I really enjoyed how the film turns into somewhat of a Hitchcockian story. I definitely caught a hint of Psycho between the second and third acts.

When Alma intentionally poisons Woodcock and learns that his sister called a doctor to examine him, we get to see how Alma deals with potentially being caught. Hitchcock knew how to do this in his films, and it’s done near perfectly in Psycho when Norman Bates is being interrogated by the detective. Krieps' performance in that moment was definitely reminiscent of Anthony Perkins.

Some shots are almost completely replicated as well, and, in terms of lighting and position, the camerawork is quite similar too.

SPOILERS END HERE

Phantom Thread was truly an excellent theater experience. Getting to hear the beautiful score by Greenwood with the enhanced theater sound, combined with how meticulously shot and directed the film was, made Phantom Thread my favorite film of 2017.

Lady Bird is an INCREDIBLY close second, but what Anderson has done with Phantom Thread makes any other film in 2017 unmatchable.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Wonderfully written, shot, and beautifully scored, Anderson attempts to capture the obscurity of human autonomy and routine, and display that the preventing of change and variability in life is simply hopeless.

This, coupled with a nice "opposites attract" love story that includes certain themes like "making it work," superstitions, toxic relationships, among others, makes for an enjoyable ride. I loved this film. It's instantly a Best Picture possible winner and embodies the art of filmmaking.

FINAL SCORE: 10/10, Worth It

Phantom Thread joins La La Land, Return of the Jedi, Casablanca, and Let The Right One In as films that Lane has given a perfect score.