Phantom Thread (2017) (1 Viewer)

[Mark VH]

Finally saw this over the weekend, and am absolutely over the moon for it. Among other things, I thought it was the best romantic comedy in ages and one of the best movies about marriage I've ever seen. Just a darn near perfect film. Weirdly, this and Dunkirk ended up being my two favorite films from 2017, both coming from directors I've liked in the past but have never loved with the fervor of others. A magnificent experience and my only regret is that I saw it so late in its run that I'm afraid I won't have time to catch it in theaters again.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I thought it was the best romantic comedy in ages

Well, not sure I would describe it to people that way as while these characters do fall for each other...in whatever way they are capable of...this is not very romantic and the comedy is a bit on the black side. It is funny, no doubt, but I wonder what sort of visions dance in people's heads when you say "romantic comedy" because I think if you take a date to this film you may be more than mildly concerned about what sort of ideas it gives her.

 

[Mark VH]

Well, not sure I would describe it to people that way as while these characters do fall for each other...in whatever way they are capable of...this is not very romantic and the comedy is a bit on the black side. It is funny, no doubt, but I wonder what sort of visions dance in people's heads when you say "romantic comedy" because I think if you take a date to this film you may be more than mildly concerned about what sort of ideas it gives her.

Oh, I would absolutely classify it as a romantic comedy, almost a screwball one, and I'm surprised this is something a lot of critics missed about it. It's basically about two quirky people with highly specific needs learning how to love one another on the other person's terms rather than their own (or, in couples therapy terms, learning the other person's "love language"). And it's hilarious - albeit, yes, darkly so.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well, it's certainly funny but I would not say it's Bringing Up Baby...

I thought a lot of the stuff I've heard and read about it caught the comedy in it but not sure everybody will. Anderson does work comedy into all his films but I think a lot of people don't really catch it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I agree that while there are certainly some extremely humorous moments in it ("The tea is going out, but the interruption is staying right here with me!"), I would not classify it as a romantic comedy either, because it is largely telling a very dramatic story in a serious fashion. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a romantic comedy. This is not that.

 

[Mark VH]

I agree that while there are certainly some extremely humorous moments in it ("The tea is going out, but the interruption is staying right here with me!"), I would not classify it as a romantic comedy either, because it is largely telling a very dramatic story in a serious fashion. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a romantic comedy. This is not that.

No, it is not that - and thank goodness! - but just because it is not that also doesn’t mean it’s not also a romantic comedy. Romantic comedies can and do take on many forms, and films can be more than one thing at once. The fact that it presents itself as a “very dramatic story” told in “serious fashion” doesn’t mean that either. Anderson is nothing if not a director who subverts audience expectations, and I believe that he uses the veneer of the parlor drama to stage a relationship movie that, once one looks under its surface, absolutely takes on and quietly subverts the tropes of the traditional romantic comedy, one of the funniest and best examples of the genre in years.

 

[Jake Lipson]

To me, making the audience laugh is one of the primary objectives of most comedies. I don't think that's the case here, since while there were many funny moments, the story they were telling definitely skewed far more dramatic. The comedy was a component of some scenes, but not the dominant one. And certainly given the way it ends, I don't consider that to be comedic. Just my opinion.

 

[Jake Lipson]

If any of the rest of you are online right now, Paul Thomas Anderson, costume designer Mark Bridges, and producer JoAnne Sellar are doing a Facebook live Q&A right now being streamed on the Phantom Thread Facebook page from the DGA theater in LA. I have it on right now, and so far it's been very informative and entertaining.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The Q&A is now over, but the video is posted to the Phantom Thread Facebook page if you want to look it up. Also, they actually took my question to Paul Thomas Anderson. So, that's pretty cool.

Note, however, SPOILERS for both Phantom Thread and The Beguiled in the video. Don't watch if you haven't seen both of those films.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Sort of like the pie fight scene that was cut from Strangelove, wouldn't you say...

 

[TravisR]

Daniel Day-Lewis always plays such serious roles that it's odd to see him doing something silly. He even looks like he's breaking character a little bit and just having fun & laughing in that clip.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

More interesting bits with Anderson talking about these tests. I found this a great listen.

 

[Jake Lipson]

With the Blu-ray release around the corner on Tuesday, it appears that the theatrical release is essentially over.

Box Office Mojo hasn't updated a domestic total for it since April 1, but right now it's at $21 million and change. Internationally, it's at $44.5 million, so the foreign gross of $23.5 million is actually higher than its domestic total.

I don't know what the budget of the film was, so I can't determine whether or not this was a profitable result. I hope so. I do think it's way lower than the film deserved.

I saw it twice, and I still think it's the best film of the year.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=paulthomasanderson2017.htm

 

[Carlo_M]

It's okay...Shawshank didn't make much money on its theatrical run either.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The CD just arrived from Amazon and I hate the packaging. It's in a thin cardboard thing (I hesitate to even call it a case) and the CD is just behind the cardboard.

It feels weird to quote myself, but, with the arrival of the Blu-ray comes a solution to this annoying problem. I took the DVD, which I don't really care about and will never use, out of the combo pack and put the soundtrack in its place. The DVD can hang out in a sleeve, meanwhile the soundtrack is protected safely and the packaging looks nice and official because it is for the same movie.

Also, interestingly enough, the Blu-ray arrives packaged in a clear case, rather than the standard blue.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I agree that while there are certainly some extremely humorous moments in it ("The tea is going out, but the interruption is staying right here with me!"), I would not classify it as a romantic comedy either, because it is largely telling a very dramatic story in a serious fashion. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a romantic comedy. This is not that.

Yeah, the comedy is extremely dry. And it's not exactly a traditional "romance" - it's more two restrained people who seem to annoy each other but who stick together anyway.

I view it as a character drama about two people in a relationship - never once did it occur to me to call it a rom-com, as it's neither especially romantic or particularly comedic...

 

[Vic Pardo]

Phantom thread? 76 posts up to now and still no mention...

 

[dpippel]

D'OH!

 

[Bryan^H]

I watched this again recently the main actress is haunting. A great piece of acting. Although she looked so familiar. She very much reminds me of this classic painting of Elizabeth Winthrop Chandler.