Well, this is certainly a lovely surprise on a foggy New England morning. Focus Features just dropped the first preview for the new Paul Thomas Anderson film, Phantom Thread, which sees the hyper-acclaimed filmmaker reuniting with his There Will Be Blood collaborator Daniel Day-Lewis.
It’s Day-Lewis’ last film before his retirement from screen acting, and it looks to be one to remember. This film is quite literally a costume drama, set in the ’50s inside of the London fashion scene, and it’s bound to frustrate anybody interested in pinning down Anderson’s oeuvre to a specific time, place or country.
Needless to say, we’re pumped.
It is quite literally pointless to analyze this trailer, but we will say this: it’s kind of funny that you’d hire Day-Lewis to essentially play Ralph Fiennes. We’re kidding. Don’t hurt us.
Here’s a synopsis provided to the press by Focus:
Set in the glamour of 1950’s post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the center of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by love. With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative journey, and the women who keep his world running. “Phantom Thread” is Paul Thomas Anderson’s eighth movie, and his second collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis.
Phantom Thread arrives in select theaters on Christmas.
Trailer still via The New York Times.