I watched “Phantom Thread”, Daniel-Day Lewis’ final outing with somewhat low overall expectations. DDL is a master of his craft and I thought I would be watching it in much the way I might watch a first clarinet in a symphony I don’t particularly care for — I would be mesmerized by the artistry on the licorice stick and marvel at the finger work, but indifferent to overall piece. “Renowned dressmaker’s life is upturned by a strong willed common woman” is not the teaser that gets me to carve out my oversubscribed time for some quality cinema and popcorn.
I got my hands on an Oscar screener (so I got the ‘This Viewing Copy is Provided for Awards Consideration Only and is not for Sale or Public Presentation’ warning every 10 minutes) and decided to let it play in the background while I pursued the elusive ghost of inbox zero.
I was incorrect in my assumption and ended up watching it will full attention.
Holy crap DDL brought the magic. His character traveled the grounds between powerful charismatic, tortured and temperamental artist, and unrepentant Lothario. The ‘strong willed woman’ of the preview functioned like a Matthew Crowley character from Downton Abbey…a non-aristocratic foil to shine a light on ludicrosity. Matthew, while not always agreeing with the structure of the aristocracy, understood its role and was not prejudicial to the participants. Our girl Alma in Phantom was resolute and did little to move to any middle ground, which added a little extra grist to the conflict.
I might have guessed a dress maker might love women more. While I believe he sincerely wanted to make women beautiful, it was to prove the power of his creations not serve the women. There were deliciously painful scenes where women writhed in body-image self-destruction while DDL and his team referred to them almost in the third person as if they were little more than canvasses.
I joyfully see that Lesley Manville is nominated for Best Supporting Actress this year. I haven’t seen any of the other nominees’ movies, so I can’t put her in context, but she was mesmerizing. She plays the Dressmaker’s second and bows to his constant quirks. However, in one scene, when discussing some of his bad behavior towards Alma, she breaks the calm and suggests “don’t pick a fight with me, you certainly won’t come out alive, I’ll go right through you and it will be you that ends up on the floor. Understood?” Kablam.
I want to grow old into the good parts of this character. Not now, but eventually. His seduction skills draw in men and women alike and I think have the purpose of deep engagement more than boudoir conquest. I envy his charismatic ease and purpose-filled life. I have plans to adopt a habit or two of the DDL character, secret habits that are for personal expression.
My Daniel Day-Lewis movie marathon would begin with The Last of the Mohicans, anguish through My Left Foot, include My Beautiful Laundrette as a composite watching of A Room with a View and The Unbearable Lightness of Being, flip a coin and choose either Gangs of New York or There Will Be Blood, and then say goodbye with Phantom Thread.
For a long time I didn’t know that Daniel Day-Lewis and Jeremy Irons weren’t the same person (which one was in The Mission?), so now I will have to turn to JL for new works.