--- title: "Phantom Thread: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/phantom-thread/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/phantom-thread" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Phantom Thread (2017): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 18 reviews: 17 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics warmly praise Phantom Thread as a darkly comic romance about obsession and control. Daniel Day-Lewis’s fastidious designer draws consistent admiration, while Vicky Krieps receives particular credit for making his partner equally compelling; Lesley Manville’s supporting performance also earns notice. The reviews repeatedly praise Anderson’s precise direction, detailed period setting and movement between cruelty, comedy and tenderness. Jonny Greenwood’s score attracts strong praise, with The Hollywood Reporter identifying it as the largest individual contribution to the film’s impact. The disagreement concerns how much feeling comes through that careful construction, rather than the quality of the acting or craft. Most critics find the central relationship moving or psychologically absorbing, but Collider finds it short on emotional depth. The New Yorker offers the clearest dissent, admiring the workmanship while finding the enclosed atmosphere oppressive and sickly. Reservations remain limited within a strongly positive consensus. ## Radio Times — Emma Simmonds Rating 5/5. The critic calls it a divine, poetically scripted melodrama that examines the artist’s vulnerability and emotional upheaval in an intimate portrait, especially fitting as a potential swan song for Day-Lewis. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-6l3ius/phantom-thread/) ## The i Paper — Matthew Turner Rating ★★★★★. 1 February 2018. Day-Lewis delivers a magnificent performance as the fastidious designer Reynolds Woodcock, retiring in style, while newcomer Vicky Krieps is perfectly cast in a twisted Hitchcockian romance full of suspense from everyday details. The critic praises the strong supporting work, sumptuous score and design, calling it a cinematic treat. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/phantom-thread-review-daniel-day-lewis-122510) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 5/5. 20 December 2017. The critic lauds the film’s exploration of obsession and power shifts in the romance, noting the sophisticated script, strong performances, and the director’s fun handling of the characters’ battle of wills. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/phantom-thread) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating A-. 7 December 2017. The critic finds the film an exquisite, tastefully crafted intimate love story that masks a perverse and moving relationship study beneath its mannered elegance. He singles out the strong performances, especially Daniel Day-Lewis and newcomer Vicky Krieps, and Anderson's refined formal control. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/p-t-anderson-reunites-with-daniel-day-lewis-for-the-ex-1821100576) ## Evening Standard — Matthew Norman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 February 2018. The critic hails Daniel Day-Lewis's sublime swansong performance as a fragile, neurotic perfectionist couturier and calls the film a profoundly engaging psychological examination of mutual dependency and power shifts in a warped love affair. He singles out the film's atmospheric visuals, unsaid details, and rich emotional layers for praise. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/phantom-thread-review-daniel-day-lewis-bows-out-in-style-a3756316.html) ## Film Comment — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). The critic describes the film as a classical melodrama and chamber piece about a toxic family triangle in 1950s couture, praising its opulent yet intimate execution, nuanced performances (especially the understated Day-Lewis, terrifying Manville, and mischievous Krieps), and masterful unraveling of the artist's mystique. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-week-phantom-thread/) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2017. The critic calls it a riveting '50s romance that is a screwball comedy in disguise, an absorbing period piece seemingly focused on a successful man's obsessions but really about his opposite. He praises Anderson for crafting a twisted yet compelling dynamic between the characters. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/phantom-thread-review-paul-thomas-anderson-daniel-day-lewis-1201903991/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2017. The critic celebrates the film's spellbinding details, exquisite performances—especially Vicky Krieps as a triumphant muse—and its subversive take on artistic obsession and domestic power. It is hailed as a lush, darkly comic homage to romantic melodramas with Anderson's signature intensity. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-phantom-thread-review-20171222-story.html) ## Total Film — Kevin Harley Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 January 2018. Anderson crafts a classic of obsession and strange love with dynamite leads, as Day-Lewis retires in style and Krieps is revelatory in a nuanced, subverted character study of a fastidious designer and his muse. The critic singles out the complex duet, tonal balance of cruelty and comedy, and singular lines echoing Bergman and Hitchcock for praise. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/phantom-thread-review/) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 January 2018. Anderson shifts to gothic romance in 1950s London with a chamber-piece focus on an unconventional relationship, where Day-Lewis gives a worthy final performance as a petulant man-child and Krieps shines as the stronger partner who gradually takes emotional control. The critic highlights the black comedy, perverse twists, and fresh setting suiting the director. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/phantom-thread-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2017. The critic praises the film's refined austerity and its exploration of the equilibrium artists require, arriving at a place of qualified peace that resolves the emotional wounds running through Anderson's cinema. He singles out the subtle power dynamics and Alma's role in providing Reynolds what he needs through a mix of control and perversity. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/phantom-thread/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 25 December 2017. The review highlights the film's expert craftsmanship and Day-Lewis's obsessive performance but finds it cloistral and sickly, leaving the critic craving fresh air amid its tense power struggles. It notes the perverse yet engrossing dynamic between the designer and his muse, with echoes of Hitchcock. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/08/the-claustrophobic-elegance-of-phantom-thread) ## Screen Daily 7 December 2017. The critic describes an impossible love affair rendered in impeccable detail that beguiles and confounds, praising the tonal fluidity, reserved performances, and insight into desire, ambition and control. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/phantom-thread-review/5124493.article) ## Sight and Sound — Adam Nayman 1 February 2018. The critic praises Anderson’s most ambitious and surprising film, highlighting the power reversal between the obsessive designer and his muse along with Hitchcockian influences blended into comedy and drama. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-phantom-thread-unravels-relationship-between-artist-his-muse) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 7 December 2017. The critic praises Daniel Day-Lewis's charismatic and outrageous performance as the fastidious couturier Reynolds Woodcock in what is claimed to be his final role. The review highlights the film's heightened reality, elegant absurdity, and the lead actor's swansong as a high note of pure delicious pleasure. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/07/phantom-thread-review-daniel-day-lewis-paul-thomas-anderson) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 7 December 2017. The critic describes the film as an exquisitely idiosyncratic melodrama of love, desire and gamesmanship among control freaks in the world of haute couture, less grandiose than Anderson's recent work but more precision-controlled. He singles out Jonny Greenwood's gorgeously melodious score as the most important individual contribution to the film's impact. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/phantom-thread-review-1063279/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 24 December 2017. The critic praises the film's chamber-piece qualities and the richly textured performances, especially Daniel Day-Lewis as an obsessive couturier and Vicky Krieps as his determined muse. It is presented as a wry, comic study of love, work, and power dynamics in a refined gothic vein. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/movies/phantom-thread-review-daniel-day-lewis.html) ## Den of Geek — Mark Harrison Rating 5/5. 7 February 2018. Harrison calls it an instant classic and one of the best films of the year, praising its intimate study of an unusual relationship that feels eerie and sumptuous, with standout transformative performances and intricate character details that reward rewatching. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/phantom-thread-review-2/) ## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric Rating 5/5. The critic praises the film as stunning and memorable, highlighting enchanting performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville as well as the assured direction from Paul Thomas Anderson. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/phantom-thread-review/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 9/10. 7 December 2017. The critic calls it one of the year's best films, a delirious and hypnotic pitch-black comedy with stellar performances, especially from Vicky Krieps, and praises the lush direction, look, and Jonny Greenwood score. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/554922/phantom-thread-review/) ## NME — Alex Flood Rating 4/5. 31 January 2018. Flood praises the deeply visual and detailed film for its rich worlds, breathtaking score, and absorbing performances, especially Day-Lewis's ability to disappear into the character and Krieps's strong-willed turn as Alma, calling it a perfect send-off despite the slow pace. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/phantom-thread-film-review-daniel-day-lewis-2232775) ## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2017. The critic calls it a sumptuous chamber drama studying power shifts among an obsessive dressmaker, his sister, and his love interest, with a slippery story that undercuts expectations. Singles out the transformation theme, emotional textures, and especially Daniel Day-Lewis's indelible performance. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/12/20/movies/phantom-thread-film-review-paul-thomas-anderson-daniel-day-lewis) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 7 December 2017. The critic finds the film compelling thanks to its captivating performances and exquisite craftsmanship, though it lacks emotional depth like Anderson's recent works. Singles out the interplay of artistry, gender dynamics, and the strong acting from Day-Lewis, Krieps, and Manville. [Read the review](https://collider.com/phantom-thread-review/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 8 December 2017. Pete Hammond calls it mesmerizing with odd delights, praising Day-Lewis's performance as a memorable swan song, along with strong supporting turns and the film's Hitchcockian influences and sumptuous production. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2017/12/phantom-thread-review-daniel-day-lewis-paul-thomas-anderson-1202222608/) ## The Wrap — Robert Abele 17 January 2018. The critic praises it as PTA’s latest masterpiece, highlighting the sophisticated and humorous exploration of disruptive love between a designer and his muse, with strong performances and a perverse twist. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/phantom-thread-film-review-paul-thomas-anderson-daniel-day-lewis/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/phantom-thread.md