Phantom Thread Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Phantom Thread Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 31, 2018

Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread is a story of eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, routine, and the prospects of love upsetting one man's settled, strict ways. It's the tale of a man, a master of his craft, who has mastered his life but in such a rigid, precise, exacting way that he cannot alter it, even for matters of the heart. It's a fascinatingly detailed, often intense, and superbly acted film that builds towards and ending that's at once absurd and irrational but at the same time very much grounded and appropriate as a final evolutionary step in one of the most bizarre yet captivating romances ever committed to film.

Can we love?

Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) lives a life as structured, precise, fashionable, and lavish as the clothes he designs. He is a man who is superbly talented, a dressmaker known far and wide as the finest at his craft, a master whose designs bring joy to those who wear them and, as he relishes his precision and skill and thrives in his routine, to himself. One day, he meets a slender, alluring waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps) to whom he is immediately drawn, and she to him. The two enjoy a mutual attraction, and as Reynolds accentuates her beauty with his clothes, draping her in fabrics with a sensual overtone, she melts into the moment. But the illusion is broken when Reynolds' sister, a cold and distant woman named Cyril (Lesley Manville) on whom Reynolds relies to keep his strict life in Swiss watch precision time, arrives to aid in the measurements, turning a romantic moment into a cold evening at work. Their relationship is defined by his distance and necessary adherence to routine and strict control of his environment. He finds her more off putting than he does lovely, at least in how he verbalizes himself in her presence. Whether the act of buttering her bread or bringing him late-night tea, her intrusions into his space threaten their relationship. But Alma is determined to make it work, going to great, and dangerous, lengths to put Reynolds into a vulnerable position in which she can properly demonstrate her love for him with his guard down.

Phantom thread may be described as a movie about obsession. The obsession comes from two sides, which clash. On one side is Reynolds, who is a slave to his structure. On the other is Alma, who is determined to break Reynolds free of his routine and see him see the love she has for him. Both of them forcefully will their ways on the other. Reynolds verbally chastises Alma every time she stands in his way, whether innocently and inadvertantly disrupting his ways or willfully forcing him to succumb and come to a point where he absolutely needs her. To speak of how she does so would be to spoil the film, but suffice it to say she undertakes extreme measures to break an extreme man. Whether it will work is the question, and whether the audience will accept the resolution is another entirely, but the movie is one of compromise, no matter how extreme the requirements to do so may be, or may become.

Characters are very well crafted. Reynolds is a confident man in himself, in his wants, and in his abilities as a dressmaker. He is careful, precise, adheres to routine, and his unflinchingly straight path all ensure he’s on-point for every step of the dress making process. He craves attention, high society, and demands that the world bend to his every whim, spoken or unspoken, known or implied. Alma has lived a much less glamorous life, one of distance from all those things Reynolds takes for granted. She lacks confidence but suddenly feels important as the centerpiece of Reynolds' life, however fleeting those moments may be. She is a common girl who suddenly finds herself in the world of glamor, wearing exquisite clothes, coming to appreciate her body type, but the warmth and romance quickly fade when Reynolds, carefully building a dress to suit her, turns the moment from almost arrousingly sexual to cold and distant when his sister enters the room, sizes Alma up, and the quasi-lovemaking session turns into another day at the office for a man who finds more pleasure with a measuring tape in his hand rather than a woman’s warmth against his body.

Vicky Krieps is superb as Alma. She doesn't overshadow Day-Lewis, but she's the perfect compliment and certainly reaches nearly his level. She's supple, flattering, and delicate, at first, but her transition into a more authoritative figure who still projects a modesty and subservience but who truly takes command of her environment by film's end makes for a startling, albeit very finely precise, transformation. She's capable of remarkable transformations even within the same scene or even shot. At several points her cheerfulness becomes a dourness and her arousal grows instantly cold. It's in how she handles those ever-evolving emotions, as Reynolds gives her reason to superficially and inwardly change and develop, that makes the character so appealing. Day-Lewis, in what is being reported as his final role, devours the material as only he can, selling not simply his abilities as a dressmaker but his rigidity in structure and schedule so well. He shows hints of a warmness, but the cold exterior and insistence on adhering to the status quo, no matter how far he may consequentially push Alma away, is always delivered with a chillingly bold and believable cadence.

Phantom Thread Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Phantom Thread curiously arrives on Blu-ray without its companion UHD releasing day-and-date, which is instead scheduled to go on sale about a month later. While 4K format fans will have to endure an agonizingly long extra month in wait, the 1080p Blu-ray is certainly very efficient and very strong in its own right. The image features a modest paleness about it to begin, but colors quickly reveal themselves as contextually saturated and pleasantly refined. Richly colorful dresses, a nice warmth in artificial light at a restaurant in chapter four, firm skin tones, and efficient supporting hues are all highly impressive (be sure to watch the highly informative supplement about the film stock used to shoot the movie). Blacks are certainly on the lighter side, pushing modestly pale and revealing a more intensive grain structure, a good example coming in the 18-minute mark. But any minor qualms with the image quickly fade as the picture's gloriously innate ebb and flow strengths are revealed, as the image compliments not only the beautifully structured and ornate clothes and locations and characters but also the movie's dramatic unfolding. Textural delights are precise. Stone streets, brick façades, perfectly dense and detailed fabrics including dense jackets and lacy overlays, intimate skin textures, and complex detail in close-up shots of objects like a cloth measuring tape are all consistently striking. It'll certainly be interesting to see in what ways, if any, the forthcoming UHD markedly improves on this high-end image from Universal.

Phantom Thread Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Phantom Thread features a DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack, which will most assuredly be exactly the same as that to be found on the upcoming UHD disc. Musical notes are beautifully clear and tailored, with a fine range of piano strokes, strings, and supportive low end accompaniment, as necessary, offering an enriching, precise, and wide presentation. Music is largely the property of the front channels, but the surrounds do engage with modest support structure. The track features wonderful atmospheric fill, too, the first example coming in the eight-minute mark as the film shifts to a fashion show and a restaurant. Delivery of those sounds Reynolds finds irritating are not amplified, but the contextual emphasis on them is critical, and the track handles them with proper volume and concern for the finest detail. There are no obvious overhead sound implementations, and even as surrounds are sparsely populated, the extra channels at least help to create a fuller sense of place, no matter how minor. Dialogue propels the majority of the film, and it finds excellence in all categories: placement, prioritization, and clarity.

Phantom Thread Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Phantom Thread contains a few extras. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. The set ships in a clear case rather than the standard solid blue.

• Camera Tests (1080p, 8:42): A high quality extra with the optional Paul Thomas Anderson commentary in which he walks the viewer through highly technical and highly interesting insight into the various film stocks used in the tests and the benefits they brought to the product.
• For the Hungry Boy (Deleted Scenes) (1080p, 4:51): A collection of various scenes. Music by Jonny Greenwood.
• House of Woodcock Fashion Show (1080p, 2:47): As seen in the film, a fashion show clip. Narrated by Adam Buxton.
• Behind the Scenes Photographs (1080p, 11:56): Photos by Michael Bauman set to demo versions of Jonny Greenwood's score.

Phantom Thread Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Phantom Thread is a curious but delightfully dark tale of obsession from two opposing viewpoints. It's careful, precise, strange, and engaging all at once. And sadly in contemporary cinema, Phantom Thread is an anomaly. It's not concerned with speed or humor, flash or dazzle. It's cinema as art in a traditional sense, a perfectly acted dual character study, a finely crafted tale of intimate extremes and how love can, or cannot, mold those who feel it. It's an exquisite picture, as smartly crafted as its lead is capable of building the perfect dress. One could not ask for a better performance from Daniel Day-Lewis in what is being widely reported as his final role. Universal's Blu-ray, releasing about a month ahead of its UHD counterpart, offers smart and complimentary 1080p picture, most assuredly the same DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack that will accompany the UHD, and several extras, including a quick but engaging camera test reel with Paul Thomas Anderson commentary. Very highly recommended.