This first TrailerTown for Phantom Thread has a lot going for it. Sure, it’s beautiful and intriguing, but let’s not bury the lede, it stars Daniel Day-Lewis in his proclaimed final film role (say it isn’t so!!) and is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Those two names are easily people at the top of their respective games and either one of them being attached to a project would propel it to the top of our “Must See” lists. If we’re being honest, this trailer could literally just be Daniel Day-Lewis reading a book by a fire and we’d still be over the moon for it. Luckily, the TrailerTown we get is so much more than that.

If you haven’t watched it already, take a look right now and then read our Top 5 thoughts about it below:

Top 5 Things About the Phantom Thread Trailer

  1. A Day-Lewis and A Dollar Short – This whole write-up could be about the wonder that is Daniel Day-Lewis. His career has included some of the best performances by an actor in the history of film. His work in Lincoln, My Left Foot, and let’s not forget his other outing with PTA, There Will Be Blood, are marvels to behold. If the prospect of seeing him team up with PTA again and act like he knows he’s never going to act again doesn’t get your nerves tingling, you may want to see a doctor, and wouldn’t you know it, Daniel Day-Lewis played a doctor in The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
  2. PTA Meeting – If you looked us in the face and said “Paul Thomas Anderson doesn’t really direct good movies,” we’d be likely to punch you right in your stupid, stupid face. Seriously, go to his IMDB page and look through his features and find us a bad one, we’ll wait. Oh, you can’t? Okay, go back and look for one that’s just mediocre. You still can’t? That’s right! The man is a gift from the gods of cinema that prove they want us to see good movies. We’re welcome.
  3. Lining Notes – Early in the trailer, Daniel Day-Lewis’ character says that he hides things in the linings of the clothes he makes (0:20). This is never really picked back up again, but knowing Paul Thomas Anderson, we can only imagine how big a part this one line will play in how the movie unfolds (pun intended). We need to know what it all means!
  4. London Calling – Among the many, many things that Paul Thomas Anderson does well is he understands the beauty in and uses to full effect the settings of his films. Boogie Nights took us headfirst into the seediness of the 1970s porn underground, There Will Be Blood showed us the beauty in Texas oil drilling, and The Master set us out to sea on a trip we didn’t want to return from. Whatever PTA is going to do with a movie set in 1950’s post-war London is destined to be breathtaking.
  5. Obsession, by Calvin Klein – Daniel Day-Lewis is purely in his element when playing someone wrapped up in obsession. Whether it’s obsessing about owning territory (Gangs of New York) or obsessing over legislation (Lincoln), he pulls us into his characters’ needs to where we need too. On the flip side, some of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best work has to some degree revolved around love (see Punch-Drunk Love or The Master). This TrailerTown promises a film where the two are intertwined. It looks to be a tour de force of all the elements that make both these players masters of their domains.

If you couldn’t tell, we love Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson. If you’re as excited for this as we are, let us know in the comments below.