Something is not the same - Phantom Thread

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
U. S., 2017
130 minutes


Nothing is the same.

I've said that a lot lately, but it's true.

All throughout my viewing experience of Phantom Thread, I was struggling to find a word that summarized. I knew it was spelled with a 't' at the beginning, but it was constantly escaping me. Then, as the end credits rolled, and I sat there in stunned silence, I found myself using a word that I haven't used to describe a movie in almost five years: 'transcendent'.

Literally from the first frame of this film, I was in love with it, and that love never wavered through the rest of Paul Thomas Anderson's methodically directed 130-minute film. I am utterly astounded by everything that I witnessed onscreen. A sumptuous production, beautiful but unobtrusive cinematography, a score that feels like something a classical composer would write, a script that knows exactly what the characters should say at any given time, acting that puts every other potential nominee at the Oscars this year to shame. No other movie I've seen from 2017 has compared to this movie, and at this point, I hope nothing else does.

...

And that's all I really want to say about it right now.

I know, it's a cop out to end the review so quickly after starting it, but here's the thing: I know I love this film, I want all of you to see it for yourselves. In addition to that, I also want to study it before I really talk about it, and I fully intend to.

Like Salieri in Amadeus, I intend to witness this Don Giovanni at least four more times in the cinema.

Join me in this epic quest if you dare. It started yesterday, let's hope it lasts a long time. We will experience this film many times over.

...

Oh, and I guess I should say, I'll be postponing my Best of 2017 list until mid-February, giving me enough time to witness this and many other films that I've missed up to this point. Hope you can live with that. I'll try to make it worth your while.


***** out of *****