In post-war London, Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a renown dressmaker. His sister Cyril is his constant assistant. At a restaurant, he is enthralled with the fumbling waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps) who is also taken with him. He is particular with what he likes and lives a regimented life. Alma becomes his muse and model but his controlling nature overwhelms her.
Paul Thomas Anderson has a great eye and Daniel delivers a great performance as usual. I'm not familiar with Vicky Krieps. She has some great surprising turns and is skillfully controlled. This is an intriguing portrayal of an imbalanced power dynamic. There is a surprising turn in the middle which I did not expect. After the turn, I expected a better downhill descend into a devastating collapse. Instead, it does something just as unexpected and I'm not as thrill about the second half. One has to respect the director's vision in this but it does leave me a little wanting.
