Phantom Thread | Film Review

Hey Guys x

This is the next Oscar nominated film that I saw, and in terms of the 'Best Picture' nominees, I haven't got a lot left! Which is good because the Oscars are coming around so quickly!

This film is about a dressmaker called Reynolds Woodcock who falls in love with a waitress called Alma. Quickly, they become a couple, she moves in with him and becomes a permanent fixture in the lives of Reynolds and his sister Cyril.  However, the relationship between the couple doesn't run smoothly. As Alma begins to disrupt Reynold's life, he begins to wonder why he brought her into it in the first place. And as the story begins to take a dark turn, it seems like this love story is set to end in disaster.

This film didn't get a lot of publicity. In fact, before the Oscar nominees came out I hadn't heard of it at all. And to be honest, that sucks, because this film should be getting a lot more people taking about it than it currently is.

I really enjoyed this film. I didn't love it, there were some times when it got a bit dreary and, for want of a better word, boring (it could have been cut down by a good few minutes), but that didn't take away from the story itself.

I had no idea what this film was about, so I didn't know what to expect. However, I did not expect it to be what it was. I didn't expect it to take such a dark turn, but that for me, made the film so worth watching. It gave the movie a twist that I wasn't expecting and really made me want to get to the end to see just how it was going to finish.

There was something that struck me about this film, more so than the other Oscar nominees I've seen so far.

When we talk about strong female characters, our brains automatically go to the women playing the typical male roles, like the amazing female warriors in Black Panther, or female video game character roles like Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.

However, for me, the character of Alma is a character that is so strong that it was admirable to see, particularly for the time that the movie was set in.

When you first meet her, you think that she's a girl who'll follow orders, and that this guy will be too much for her because he's such a dominant personality. In fact, you feel a bit worried for her.

But let me tell you, Alma gives as good as she gets. It doesn't matter how dominant this man is, she is not about to let him tell her what to do, or how to do it. She makes her presence known in that house and if she isn't OK with something, she won't hesitate to let him know. I actually admire her so much and wish I was like her because she's an incredible character. And as much as I love these strong comic-book masculine-esque type women (and by seeing my love of superhero movies, you know I do!), it's so great to have women like Alma represented in both the movie world and the awards world.

I would definitely encourage many people to go and see this film, particularly because I don't think this is a film that would be seen if it wasn't nominated. So go and see it, please!

Lou xx