Phantom Thread

2017 The character work in Paul Thomas Anderson’s films is perhaps one of the most alluring aspects of his work as it is some of the most fully three dimensional characters ever put to screen. One person is never just one thing, there is always a but; Reynolds is often mean and ambitious, but he’s also caring and respectful, especially of those who show strength; Alma on the other hand is innocent almost to the point of naivety, but she’s never stupid and her love for Reynolds drives her beyond this innocence, but still without losing it. The truly spectacular aspect of this comes through the layering of the characters’ traits as his characters are never truly readable until the very end of the film. It is also interesting how these traits often are revealed through some sort of struggle for power between two characters; from Reynolds and Alma in Phantom Thread, Freddie and Lancaster Dodd in The Master or Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood. One character is often in control while the inferior one struggles to compete.  This is for me what makes PTA’s work so fascinating. Not just the single film, but his collective works and their interconnections through themes and structure. Every time I watch a film of his my perception of it changes depending on which film of his I watched last.