I think this might be brilliant. After finishing it, all I could do was think back over the course of the entire movie, picking it apart in my mind, trying to remember why something happened, or what something looked like, or how something sounded, what something might have tasted like. I feel like I not only HAVE to see this movie again, but I WANT to see it again. My brain has trouble contemplating what, in fact, I was watching. This feels kind of strange to say. But I think this might be a comedy.

I think Paul Thomas Anderson might be showing off. Proving that he can secretly make a masterpiece, while also winking an eye at his audience.

I’ve taken a few days of reflection, to digest the movie as much as possible. And to be honest, I’m still confounded by this piece of filmmaking. I’ve never really seen anything like this. I don’t want to get hyperbolic or anything. But I’m overwhelmed by this movie. Daniel Day Lewis chose an interesting film to go out on. But he’s undeniably brilliant. So are his counterparts, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. The dynamic between this trio is truly masterful.

There were times during the movie that I asked myself “Why did Paul Thomas Anderson make this movie? A movie about a 1950’s British fashion designer? Why did Daniel Day Lewis want to portray this grumpy, rigid man for his last role?” But after contemplating the movie as a whole, I’m starting to understand why. The movie is not just about the rigidness of this man’s past. It’s about art, and love, and beauty, and power and trust, and putting everything on the line for all of those things. And even with all those haughty goals, it’s also hilarious. The whole idea of the movie is hilarious to me now (something I could not have said while in the middle of watching it).

So yeah…I suppose I’m saying this is brilliant.

5 out of 5 stars