Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t make many films, when he does you know it’s going to be special. Day-Lewis plays the punctilious Reynolds, 1950s dress-maker to royalty and the rich. He needs muses to inspire him and women come and go as they fleetingly fulfil the role. Into his life comes Alma (Krieps), a strong-willed waitress who becomes his model and lover. We begin to wonder who is in control and to what lengths they will go to maintain power. A wonderfully nuanced film with knock-out performances from the three leads, it has a subversive thread of humour and plot turns that leave you wondering for a long time afterwards.

Shooting started the day after Trump’s election, and as Anderson recalls: “It didn’t make it easy to look at your country on fire, and you’re telling the story of a self-consumed egomaniac.” While Anderson immersed himself in stunning imagery, his famously “method” lead learned to drape, cut and sew. Day-Lewis himself assembled his quirkiest outfit – a tweed jacket over lavender pajamas – for a scene in which his character, Reynolds Woodcock, discovers that his muse (Krieps) has disrupted his precise personal routine. Horrified, Reynolds expresses himself as best he knows how: sartorially.

“For the first time, Anderson seems to have channeled some of his own sensitivities into a singular character, one whose commitment to his artistry runs counter to his relationship with the world.” Eric Kohn, IndieWire

“Krieps has spoken of on-set claustrophobia; Day-Lewis called it a ‘nightmare’ that left him with such a profound sense of sadness that he quit acting.” Catherine Shoard, The Guardian

“Phantom Thread’s apparent severity is a brilliant disguise that only really unravels in retrospect: what’s underneath is a battle-of-the-sexes comedy that ruthlessly strips away layers of archetype and artifice to arrive at its maker’s most nakedly happily-ever-after ending to date.” Adam Nayman, Sight and Sound