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EL SEGUNDO HERALD January 4, 2018 Page 3
Entertainment
Douglass
MORTUARY
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Film Review
A Beguiling Romance with a Twist
By Ryan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com
Love can be quite intoxicating. So can Paul
Thomas Anderson movies. Anderson’s natural
cinephile sensibilities have allowed him to make
some of the very best films of all time. Seemingly
drawing straight from the well of pure
cinema, his films are dazzling masterpieces that
seep deeply into the audiences’ subconscious
and only get better the more they are thought
about over time.
Set in the high-fashion world of post-war
London, Phantom Thread is the story of an
obsessive dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and
the woman he meets who tames him--until a
rocky disruption ensues that forces each to
see how essential they are to the other. An
absolutely gorgeous work and a rich feast for
the eyes, this period piece is one that deserves
to be seen on the big screen.
One thing that separates Phantom
Thread from Anderson’s other films is that it’s
Anderson himself who’s behind the camera
for this movie. Here he assumes director of
photography duties as well as directing. When
you’re able to operate the camera, pick the
lenses and make your own lighting decisions,
you are exacting full control to execute your
vision, as he does here.
Reginald Woodcock (Day-Lewis) knows a
thing or two about the necessity of control
when it comes to creating his works of art.
And with that comes his need for perfection,
irritable if otherwise. Mercilessly meticulous in
realizing his vision, it’s his sister Cyril (Lesley
Manville) who takes to tempering his frustrations
while she helps him run the business.
Woodcock may in fact be the character that
most closely mirrors Anderson himself--the
commentary on his own artistic sensibilities
(and shortcomings) as a perfectionist auteur.
He shows that creating such beautiful pieces
often comes from a joyless place.
This makes the introduction of Alma (Vicky
Krieps) one that inspires Woodcock. He has
had other muses before. One is seen before
the arrival of Alma, but it’s Alma whom we
find is his match and whose presence in his
life of consuming routine and ritual slowly
frays at the seams. Woodcock tries to live his
life of narcissistic vanity in his undisturbed
artistry, but Alma disrupts this vision before
the movie reveals its screwball story that forces
Reginald and Alma to realize how much they
need each other.
His most reduced story yet, Phantom
Thread is carried by the beguiling performances
of the two lovers. The performance
that Day-Lewis exacts as Woodcock in control
and restraint is as exacted as any craftsman.
If we are to believe his statement that this is
indeed his final screen performance, then it is
a fantastic one to leave behind. Vicky Krieps
as Alma is a presence that can suck the air
right out of a room, her face communicating
exactly what she’s thinking.
The allure of a PTA film is that there is
always more than meets the eye. Interestingly,
this is a detail that is manifested in the film.
Woodcock sews names and words into the
linings of his pieces, blesses them or just a
creates a sneaky secret that no one will ever
know. These codes can leave any critic endlessly
intrigued.
Phantom Thread turns out to be a phantom
of a film itself, leaving a mysterious and lasting
impression that will continue to occupy the
mind long after its watch. Creeping darkness
and growing tension make this love story one
that will sit quite well next to its peers.
Phantom Thread is 130 minutes. Rated R
for language. Now playing at the Landmark
and ArcLight Hollywood. •
Phantom Thread courtesy of Focus Features.
Ryan Rojas.
Check It Out
Turtles All the Way Down: John
Green Captivates in Latest Novel
Reviewed by Jeff Huttinger, Library
Assistant, El Segundo Public Library
I have to admit when it comes to young
adult (YA) author John Green, I can be a bit
biased. Oh sure, I may be considered slightly
older than a majority of his most devoted
fans, but I am from Indianapolis--Green’s
hometown and setting of his most recent
novel, Turtles All the Way Down. It takes
more than hometown roots to win me over
though, which Green has managed to do time
and again. His latest offering is no exception.
Meet Aza Holmes, 16-year-old amateur
detective on the trail of a criminal billionaire
who just happens to be the father of her
childhood crush, Davis Pickett. With quirky
best friend Daisy prodding her at every turn,
Aza sets out to find the absconded fugitive
and collect the $100,000 bounty. Aza’s plans
become muddled, however, as she finds
herself once again falling for the charming
and introspective Davis.
Where other YA authors may stop at typical
teenage hijinks in a man-on-the-run caper,
Green presses further, introducing the reader
to a world of mental illness and self-inflicted
injury through Aza’s obsessive-compulsive
disorder. Terrified of contracting C. difficile
colitis, Aza is compelled to tear at the
same wound on her finger several times a
day, convinced she can halt the advancing
bacteria by bleeding out over and over again.
This compulsion invades nearly every thought
and action Aza experiences.
Green’s familiar traits (sharp dialogue,
wacky characters, mystery advancing the
plot) are on full display in Turtles, yet Green
consistently aims higher than hackneyed
coming-of-age tropes. He transcends the banal,
deconstructing the YA genre while elevating
it at the same time. What I enjoy most about
Green’s work is his deep dissatisfaction with
mere replication. I truly believe he would
rather not tell a story at all than tell one we
may already recognize.
Although good ol’ midwestern pride may
have served as an introduction to Green’s work,
it is the earnestness, heart and authenticity
infused throughout that had me waiting in
line with the young’uns, fervently anticipating
his first new book in five years.
To check out Turtles All the Way Down,
also available in eBook format, or browse
any of our other fiction titles, please visit the
library to apply for your free library card. •
Jeff Huttinger.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.
“The habit of reading is the only
enjoyment in which there is no alloy;
it lasts when all other pleasures fade.”
– Anthony Trollope