January 2018 film review part 1

PHANTOM THREAD (2107) D- P.T. Anderson
An eminent British dress designer’s ordered life is thrown into disarray when he falls for a working class seamstress. And she, realising what a brilliant catch she has made, will do anything, and I mean anything, to hold onto him.

Daniel Day-Lewis has said this is to be his final film, which if true represents a great loss to the cinema. Ever since My beautiful Laundre he has been turning in faultless performances which dazzle the mind and spirit of anyone watching. Let’s hope he changes his mind, because I yearn to see him attach his enormous talent to another project. And, as in the past, I’m prepared to wait. Daniel often put several years between one film and the next, waiting until he found the ideal role. Perhaps there’s a lesson here for those actors who’ll take anything they’re offered, as long as the price is right (fill in name here)

THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN (2018) W/D- David Lowery
An aging bank robber (Robert Redford) develops a rep as the ‘polite bank robber’ because he is always nice to the tellers he threatens, and never shoots anyone. He’s hard to catch, and even when he is, has an irritating knack of busting out. Then, between heists he meets an equally aging beauty (Sissy Spacek) and kind of falls in love. But the cops chasing him don’t care how nice he is, or whether he has found love in the late autumn of his life. They just want to take him down. And once they’ve got him behind bars, keep him there.

Like Daniel Day-Lewis, Redford has hinted that this will be his last movie, and once again I say shame. Surely one of the most beautiful men to have come out of Hollywood since WW2 and with a talent to match, Redford’s is a face that will be sorely missed on the silver screen. His founding of the Sundance Film festival, though, should help keep his memory, and influence, alive for years to come...