After months of speculation, fake titles turning out to be real titles, and hidden plot details, the first trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's final collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis is here at last. The film, officially titled, 'Phantom Thread,' is set in the UK and appears to be about a high fashion designer who meets a woman and falls in love with her, but believes he is supernaturally cursed with relationships.
This synopsis is slightly more revealing than the placeholder that's been featured on IMDB for about a year which reads, "Set in the fashion world of 1950s London, a dress-maker is commissioned to design for members of high society and the royal family." Let's be honest though, the plot isn't the main draw here.
The biggest reason to go see this film is simply to see the reunion of PTA and DDL, whose remarkable work on the film There Will Be Blood back in 2007 earned Day-Lewis an Oscar. Robert Elswit, PTA's trusty cinematographer, also won an Oscar for his work on the film. But PTA lost out to the Coen Brother's No Country For Old Men in both the Best Director and Best Picture categories.
"There Will Be Blood"
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Day-Lewis has, of course, earned numerous awards, including three Academy Awards for Best Actor for his performances in My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln, making him the only male actor in history to have three wins in the lead actor category.
The other, much-hyped reason to see this film follows Day Lewis' announcement back in June that Phantom Thread would be the last film he ever acts in. While we hate to see him go, if there ever was a film to retire after it would certainly be this. This isn't the first time Day-Lewis has decided to retire; back in the late ’90s and early aughts he appeared to give up acting for a while, reportedly working as a cobbler before Martin Scorsese convinced him to return to the screen for Gangs of New York.
The film hits theaters on December 25 and rounds out what has been a remarkably strong year for arthouse and independent-leaning features. It's going to be another tight race for Paul Thomas Anderson to get his Oscar, but we're more than willing to bet Day-Lewis gets another little golden man to add to his collection.
