January 20, 2018 – This movie reminds me a bit of a well-known previous film about sado-masochism, “Secretary” (2002) starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal, the one where the boss whips his secretary, and she likes it. Well “Phantom Thread” has a couple of crazy lovers, too, but this film is played seriously, where “Secretary” was played for laughs.

Phantom Thread is the story of this strange, anal-retentive dress designer (of the haute couture variety) who picks up a waitress and makes her into a fashion model because she has the right shape. The two become lovers, sort of, but the woman, Alma (played by Vicky Krieps of “A Most Wanted Man”) gets tired of the dress-maker, Reynolds Woodcock (played by Daniel Day Lewis of “Lincoln”) because he is so set in his ways and can be distant most of the time, obsessed with his work. It is his way, or the highway.

Alma comes up with what seems to be a unique plan to make Reynolds more compliant, more loving and more dependent on her. She deliberately poisons him. Now I don't know who dreamed up the idea that poison is the path to a lasting relationship, but it is just plain nuts. It makes the sado-masochism in “Secretary” seem pretty tame. Granted, there are crazier movies, like “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer,” for instance. But this relationship is pretty far out.

It would be pretty easy to dismiss this nutty movie out of hand if the acting, the music and the production design weren't so brilliant. It looks and sounds gorgeous, and the acting by Lewis, Krieps and Lesley Manville (“Maleficent”) who plays Woodcock's sister, Cyril, is outstanding. The acting is wonderful, but I just wish the emotions on display in this film were more accessible, and not so alien.

The relationship between these three people, Reynolds, Cyril and Alma is very closely observed in this movie. It appears that Reynolds has all the power, but in a key scene, Cyril shows that she has a lot of power over Reynolds. She likes Alma, and is willing to share power in this three-way relationship with her.

This movie would be more credible if it was based on real people. Some say that the Woodcock character is based on the fashion designer Charles James (1906-1978) and, indeed, there are some similarities, but there are also a lot of differences. This movie's fictional story may not have ever been duplicated in the history of the world. I think it is just beyond the pale.

I can see why many critics like this high-toned movie (Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson of “Inherent Vice”): It has great performances, lovely music, classy cinematography, wonderful costumes and art direction. However, it also has a major flaw in the story, the poison business. I guess if you can ignore the flaw, or somehow see this as not a flaw, then you can regard this as one of the best films of 2017. I just cannot get past the flaw. This film rates a B.

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