If you asked a group of film critics to come to a consensus on the best director working today, the answer would likely be Paul Thomas Anderson. The filmmaker is already a living legend, a visionary who has crafted a body of work on par with the directors that once inspired him. From the epic ensembles of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, to the more formally experimental style of The Master and Inherent Vice, Anderson has consistently made challenging, fascinating films. In fact, it could be argued that Anderson made the best American movie of the 21st century with There Will Be Blood, his first collaboration with acting icon Daniel Day-Lewis. While the film lost Best Picture to No Country for Old Men upon its initial release, it has since only grown in esteem in critical circles, solidifying Anderson's place in film history. When you make a definitive masterpiece that draws comparisons to Citizen Kane at the young age of 37, it can be hard to find a way to top it. But Anderson has consistently pushed himself, delivering risky, unconventional cinema.
With his 8th film, the director will be re-teaming with Day-Lewis for Phantom Thread, a fashion drama set in 1950s London. As with most Anderson projects, the film was shrouded in secrecy until very recently- we didn't even know the title until this weekend. But the curtain has finally lifted, and earlier today, Focus Features debuted the first trailer for the hotly-anticipated project. Watch it below!
On first glance, Phantom Thread looks strangely vanilla for an Anderson film. Rumors of a kinky arthouse take on Fifty Shades of Grey appear to be bogus, as indicated both by the content of the trailer and the fact that the film is rated R solely for "language." But as I've dug into this trailer, I've found more and more things to like, ideas and visual quirks that are worth getting excited about. Anderson has never made a "normal" movie, and I'm confident that even if Phantom Thread never dips its toes into extreme sexuality or outrageous material, this film will be anything but safe. After reading the synopsis the other day, freelance writer Charles Bramesco noted that Anderson was tackling material similar to Federico Fellini's classic 8 1/2, a comparison that really clicked for me. But after watching this trailer, another masterpiece came to mind- Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, an enchanting thriller about obsession, jealousy, and the dynamic between a powerful man and the object of his desire. PTA is obviously working in a different genre with Phantom Thread, but I've been endlessly impressed with his ability (more in his recent films) to generate tension from the most spare and ambiguous premises. Even a screwball comedy like Inherent Vice has moments of genuine fear and intensity, and while the Pynchon adaptation has its flaws, it remains a bold and seriously wild piece of work.
So while Phantom Thread may appear to be a stuffy, uptight prestige drama, I am more than confident that Anderson will come up with something that is daring, provocative, and unexpected. Whatever we think we're about to see, the director is likely going to give us something completely different. It's why Anderson's films continue to struggle at the box office. Take Inherent Vice, for example. When audiences think they're getting the next Big Lebowski, Anderson delivers a film where the narrative incoherence is the ultimate point, as the paranoid atmosphere and tangled plot only serve to enhance his portrayal of the death of the hippie era. Phantom Thread may seem like the tale of a prickly artist and his tortured soul, but I guarantee that it'll be anything but that. What we can guarantee is that Daniel Day-Lewis will give another exceptional performance in what is believed to be his final role, a terrific swan song for a once-in-a-generation talent. Reynolds Woodcock looks magnetic, charming, and terrifying in equal measure, and I can't wait to see what Day-Lewis does with the character.
And on a final note, it's also worth mentioning that Anderson is serving as the cinematographer on this film, which will be his first time working as a director of photographer. He has famously worked with Robert Elswit throughout his career, with the sole exception of The Master, which was shot by Mihai Malaimaire. But all in all, it doesn't look like Elswit's absence has harmed the visual palette of Phantom Thread- this film looks gorgeous. Short of our next trip to a galaxy far, far away, this is my most anticipated film for the rest of the year. Bring it on, PTA.
Phantom Thread will open in select theaters on December 25.
Image Credit: Screen Rant
With his 8th film, the director will be re-teaming with Day-Lewis for Phantom Thread, a fashion drama set in 1950s London. As with most Anderson projects, the film was shrouded in secrecy until very recently- we didn't even know the title until this weekend. But the curtain has finally lifted, and earlier today, Focus Features debuted the first trailer for the hotly-anticipated project. Watch it below!
On first glance, Phantom Thread looks strangely vanilla for an Anderson film. Rumors of a kinky arthouse take on Fifty Shades of Grey appear to be bogus, as indicated both by the content of the trailer and the fact that the film is rated R solely for "language." But as I've dug into this trailer, I've found more and more things to like, ideas and visual quirks that are worth getting excited about. Anderson has never made a "normal" movie, and I'm confident that even if Phantom Thread never dips its toes into extreme sexuality or outrageous material, this film will be anything but safe. After reading the synopsis the other day, freelance writer Charles Bramesco noted that Anderson was tackling material similar to Federico Fellini's classic 8 1/2, a comparison that really clicked for me. But after watching this trailer, another masterpiece came to mind- Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, an enchanting thriller about obsession, jealousy, and the dynamic between a powerful man and the object of his desire. PTA is obviously working in a different genre with Phantom Thread, but I've been endlessly impressed with his ability (more in his recent films) to generate tension from the most spare and ambiguous premises. Even a screwball comedy like Inherent Vice has moments of genuine fear and intensity, and while the Pynchon adaptation has its flaws, it remains a bold and seriously wild piece of work.
So while Phantom Thread may appear to be a stuffy, uptight prestige drama, I am more than confident that Anderson will come up with something that is daring, provocative, and unexpected. Whatever we think we're about to see, the director is likely going to give us something completely different. It's why Anderson's films continue to struggle at the box office. Take Inherent Vice, for example. When audiences think they're getting the next Big Lebowski, Anderson delivers a film where the narrative incoherence is the ultimate point, as the paranoid atmosphere and tangled plot only serve to enhance his portrayal of the death of the hippie era. Phantom Thread may seem like the tale of a prickly artist and his tortured soul, but I guarantee that it'll be anything but that. What we can guarantee is that Daniel Day-Lewis will give another exceptional performance in what is believed to be his final role, a terrific swan song for a once-in-a-generation talent. Reynolds Woodcock looks magnetic, charming, and terrifying in equal measure, and I can't wait to see what Day-Lewis does with the character.
And on a final note, it's also worth mentioning that Anderson is serving as the cinematographer on this film, which will be his first time working as a director of photographer. He has famously worked with Robert Elswit throughout his career, with the sole exception of The Master, which was shot by Mihai Malaimaire. But all in all, it doesn't look like Elswit's absence has harmed the visual palette of Phantom Thread- this film looks gorgeous. Short of our next trip to a galaxy far, far away, this is my most anticipated film for the rest of the year. Bring it on, PTA.
Phantom Thread will open in select theaters on December 25.
Image Credit: Screen Rant
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