Phantom Thread

On Sunday afternoon we met our dear friends Ava and Jason downtown at Cinépolis in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea. We had never been to this theater; I don’t know just how long it has been there but it is new enough to have those large, comfortable seats.

We had chosen to see “Phantom Thread,” a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, a London fashion designer to a variety of wealthy clients whose business is managed by his sister, Cyril (played by Leslie Manville). Woodcock meets and is taken by a young waitress, Alma (played by Vicky Krieps), who becomes his model and eventually his lover. But Woodcock is quite a difficult man with whom to work, let alone share a life, which eventually leads Alma to a rather dramatic act in order to gain his attention. I do not want to give away too much here in case you decide to see the movie, but I will tell you (as does the New York Times review) that it involves a mushroom omelet.

I especially appreciate the names that writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has chosen for the two main characters. “Alma” is a name that means kind or nurturing, and “Woodcock” (putting aside that it is a type of bird) is an appropriate, if somewhat off-color, name for an emotionally challenged male character.

Here is a bit of what A.O. Scott had to say about this film:

Is Alma a feminist heroine? Some version of that question is likely to fuel more than a few post-screening arguments. Your answer may depend on what you think of the mushroom omelet that is the movie’s spoiler-proof surprise. There are other things to talk about. On first viewing, the captivating strangeness of the mood and the elegant threading of the plot are likely to hold your attention, but later you can go back to savor the lustrous colors, the fine-grained performances and the romantic mystery that holds the whole thing together.

I must say that I love Mr. Scott’s clever use of the phrases “threading of the plot,” “lustrous colors,” “fine-grained performances,” and “holds the whole thing together” in the review of a film about dressmaking. With a couple of day’s distance, I am better able to appreciate his fondness for this film.

After the film, we stopped for a snack at Murray’s Bagels, giving us a chance to share our thoughts, and then dropped off Ava and Jason at their next outing before heading home ourselves.

I spent Monday morning in a routine check-up with my pulmonologist at Mount Sinai, and then we headed over to MSKCC in preparation for tomorrow morning, when I am scheduled to have a CT-guided needle biopsy of the lesion in my bladder. Keep the good thoughts coming.

Love,

Rebecca