Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread ★★★★½

Maneuvers with a great deal of instability, thoroughly through tight, discomforting spaces. The room's are heavily dressed, confidently adored and prowl with enough romanticized conviction and a gothic aura.

The brilliance of Woodcock is that his instinctual, flamboyant charm is enough to convince any viewer to buy into his own self asserted genius. Falling into his traps is entirely set on you, and it's hard not to fall for it since his confidence and bravado is not only strangely admirable yet also sexually arousing, but not without it's obvious annoyances you will assert on Woodcock. He knows he's untamable, and that quality is enough to make one feel mocked at. It is not until he believes that his charm's will be enough to assert dominance upon a working girl, one that doesn't fit into his stature. Her working status is exploited for the humbled ideas of her becoming his own "muse", which is a total bullshit idea since it's already been implied that Woodcock throws away women without batting an eye.

His convictions fail once he does the unmistakable act of misreading Alma, who attains the exact bravado as Woodcock. This erases his high society stature. Both lust and desire, over each other yet more importantly over themselves, and the need to assert dominance. There is a constant frigid sexual tension amongst the both of them that is never spoken about. It's hard to assert if this relationship is as simple one might make out at first, due to it being implied again and again that this is a toxic relationship, burrowed amongst these tight corridors. Yet the sexual prowl come's from the idea that the both of them need to be tamed, and that the both of them can convincingly live a life of happiness by asserting dominance yet falling into submission for the other character when needed.

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