Phantom Thread is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Reynolds Woodcock; he is an haute couture dressmaker. The movie is set in London in the 1950s. Reynolds designs and makes dresses for the rich and members of the higher social strata; which even includes royalty. The conflict in the movie is about obsession, control and passion.
Reynolds Woodcock has an obsessive personality and he has passion for what he does. He follows a strict routine and doesn’t like to deviate from it. Upon a trip to the countryside, he meets Alma and falls in love with her. She becomes his muse. She moves into his house and becomes a model for him. At first everything seems alright and they are in love with each other but as time progresses things change. Reynolds starts to ignore Alma and doesn’t pay attention to her. He’s devoted to his work and is hard to impress. Alma prepares a dinner for Reynolds and is shocked when he lashes out at her for changing his routine. The reason being he has worked hard to perfect it. In retribution Alma poisons Reynolds’ tea with wild mushrooms. Alma nurses him through his illness and brings him back to health.
Alma and Reynolds get married after he’s fully healthy. With the course of time, they start to fight again, as Reynold’s obsessive and perfectionist personality again comes forward. One of the main clients is lost to a rival designer. Reynolds while talking to his sister blames Alma and states that rather than being an inspiration she has now turned into a mere distraction. He even says that it might be the time to end the marriage. Alma overhears this whole conversation.
In the country home, Alma makes a poisoned omelette and tells Reynolds that she wants him to be vulnerable and weak. So, that Reynolds will depend on her to take care of him. Reynolds willingly eats the omelette and Alma imagines what their future will be like.
In this movie we see two obsessive personalities clashing for control over a shared obsession that takes the form of their relationship.