Phantom Thread

A paean to epic fussiness. You don't see that every day. Nor, in the case of many moviegoers, should you. Those who are fans of stuffy English dramas will probably get their kicks watching this one, and I can certainly see some appeal in the work in and of itself. There are moments where the interplay between the characters really works and provides sharp entertainment. But the tale also comes with its limitations; the aforementioned fussiness leads the viewer to wonder if there really needs to be this much sturm und drang in the relationship. Maybe everyone should just chill a little bit. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Daniel Day-Lewis does not overwhelm with brilliance in his role; he's good, and is probably incapable of a bad performance at this point, but his fastidious fashion designer lacks some of the energy that his previous and more successful roles brought to the scene. Only in moments does our man crackle with his usual power. And moments, alas, don't add up to a total movie.