Phantom Thread Film Analysis

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The ‘Phantom Thread’ is a drama masterpiece written by Paul Thomas Anderson. Supposedly the great Daniel Day-Lewis last film of his career, the movie does not disappoint in cementing his legacy. While this love story drama was extremely entertaining, it gets even better when you start to analyze the films structure and theory. The movie starts off with a drop in shot of a man at a restaurant, writing in his notebook. You can tell by the way they are dressed and talk, this movie setting is taken place in London around 1950. As he is sitting there a waitress bumps into a table, taking his attention away from his work ,and towards a pretty woman as they share a smile. A few moments later, she goes to his table to take his order, and when he is all done, he takes the ticket that she wrote his order ;challenging her to remember it without the ticket. This first image sets up the main characters in the plot by expressing love interest. When Alma (the waitress) returns with the mans (Reynolds Woodcocks) meal, he asks her out to dinner where she obviously says yes. At this point the catalyst, the thing that puts the plot in motion, is set. At this point the viewer is forming central questions such as, “Who is Reynolds and what are his intentions?” or “How far will this relationship go?” At this point a narration begins from the waitress Alma. She isn 't giving away any plot, as she is just describing to us her emotions in the moment of her waiting for Reynolds to pick her up. When