Film rated R by the MPA

Following last year’s release of One Battle After Another (2025), it felt inevitable to revisit what felt like the strong outlier in Paul Thomas Anderson’s filmography. Away from the dingy, unflattering adult film industry of Boogie Nights (1997) and the toxic masculinity of There Will Be Blood (2007), lies a seemingly quaint film set in the 50’s about the haute couture British fashion industry. Phantom Thread (2017) is quieter than Anderson’s usual style. The abundance of yelling, swearing and gruesome deaths are substituted with scenes of subtle, biting insults while drinking tea, illuminated by naturalistic lighting and accented by Johnny Greenwood’s sombre piano and string score.

However, what makes Phantom Thread utterly striking and captivating when contextualised in Anderson’s filmography, is how it revisits and refines the thematic and stylistic inclinations found in his previous works. Whereas Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and even Magnolia (1999) to a certain extent employ an almost masculine style in its approach to dialogue, pacing and characterisation, Phantom Tread presents these same components in a digestible and resonant way.

One of the primary factors that contribute to the film’s broad allure lies in Daniel Day Lewis’ wonderfully controlled performance as Reynolds Woodcock. An anti-hero in the purest sense, Reynolds’ emotionally abusive tendencies toward the women in his life, namely deuteragonist Alma Elson, played by Vicki Krieps, stem from the consuming trauma born from his proximity to the women in his family.

His sister Cyril, whom he frequently refers to as ‘his old so-and-so,’ a nickname that harbours unfavourable connotations, scathingly remarks on the women in his life in her bid to preserve his creative genius without distractions, exhibiting a toxic maternal presence that feeds into Reynolds’ own toxic masculinity. This is further amplified by Reynolds’ relationship with his deceased mother, seemingly the only person in this story whom he has unfettered affection for whose loss he tries to vapidly fill with complacent and disposable romances.

Like the hidden messages in the linings of Reynolds’ dresses, Phantom Thread is a character study solely focused on unravelling what simmers right below the surface. There are few bombastic moments in which characters reveal their emotions. The story is revealed through intuition, guided by the performances, the costumes, the lighting and the music to a denouement that leads the viewer to uncover its central themes. Debatably, the most important of these themes, recurring in Anderson’s previous works, is the primal feeling of loneliness and a desire for meaningfulness.

As Reynolds wants his work to endure, so does Alma desire his love for her to endure. It is a tale of forcing grief to be comforted, rather than allowing it to heal naturally. Staving off this loneliness through the desire for unity and to feel protected by a paternal presence. This story actively feeds into the childhood fear of abandonment that festers within us, either allowing it to destroy or hastening up the process ourselves and destroying those around us.

Phantom Thread is a film that may not have made a significant splash in the public consciousness during its release, but the timelessness of its themes and setting pave the way for an enduring masterpiece that may come to define Anderson’s brilliance as a writer and director.

Published 9th March, 2026