Phantom Thread Imagery

Phantom Thread Imagery

Alma

Upon meeting Alma for the first time, Reynolds asked her to dinner. Once she excepts we see her standing framed by the window over Reynolds's table. The composition is a representation that she is a figure on a canvas - which is what she becomes to Reynolds, as she is his muse.

Pinned

We watch as Alma comes to breakfast at the Woodcock house in London and makes too much noise, which irritates Reynolds in the morning. He tells her to stop moving so much and be quiet. We then see her framed in a medium close-up with two lines of Molding that are on the wall behind her running down into her head. It gives the appearance that she is in a much tighter place, like a jail cell, and also that the home, like Reynolds is piercing through her.

Royalty

With the arrival of the princess to the Woodcock house, we see a wide shot of her Royal Highness walking in and greeting the staff. Anderson‘s camera then moves past the Princess into a close-up of Alma, who is enraged by how the Princess has passed her over. The camera work shows that the princess is the most important person in the room, and Alma wants that to be her, as she believes she should feel that way in her own home.

Poison

Anderson uses a close-up of Alma's hands as she crushes mushrooms. Then, he puts his camera underneath the tea pot looking out through the piping hot water to Alma as she spoons the poisonous mushrooms into the kettle. The imagery reveals the murky nature of what she’s doing and creates suspense for the viewer, who is invited to piece together that what she is preparing could kill Reynolds.

Update this section!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.

Update this section

After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.

Cite this page