Phantom Thread

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Phantom Thread (Focus Features, 2017) – Writer and Director: Paul Thomas Anderson. Stars: Vicky Krieps, Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville, Sue Clark, Joan Brown, Harriet Leitch, Dinah Nicholson, Julie Duck, Maryanne Frost, Elli Banks, Amy Cunningham, Amber Brabant, Geneva Corlett, Juliet Glaves & Camilla Rutherford. Color, Rated R, 130 minutes.

It’s London in the 1950s and Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is at the top of the fashion designer heap, creating dresses for the rich, the famous and the royal. He’s regimented, driven and set in his ways. Women are attracted to his fame hoping to be his number one model. His current amour, Johanna (Rutherford), is sitting at breakfast while he ignores her and sketches his latest design.

Reynolds leaves Johanna behind and goes to the English countryside for a change of scenery. There he meets Alma Elson (Krieps), a waitress who trips and nearly falls when she see him. Alma is the perfect size, the perfect look, and soon she’s living with Reynolds, his sister Cyril (Manville) and ten professional seamstresses. He designs dresses on Alma, features her as a model at fashion shows and ignores her at breakfast. Cyril does all the bookkeeping while managing his affairs. She’s a businesswoman to the core and doesn’t fear her brother’s moods. (“Don’t pick a fight with me, you certainly won’t come out alive. I’ll go right through you and it’ll be you who ends up on the floor. Understood?”) She also sees what’s going on between her brother and Alma.

Not only does Alma love Reynolds, she will not be passed over like Johanna. When Reynolds gets an attack of fatigue she nurses him back to health and realizes that he’s most vulnerable in that state. The next time his work pushes her out she poisons his tea with mushrooms she found in the forest. Their relationship is great while he’s sick. Alma turns his schedule upside down with his realization that he’s in love with her. After they have a major disagreement, she makes him an omelet with the same mushrooms included and we see the light go on in his mind. “Kiss me before I get sick,” he tells her.

Though I usually balk at narrated films, Alma’s occasional narration was not intrusive under the guise of an interview with Dr. Robert Hardy (Gleeson). The two hours and ten minutes could easily have been shortened by clipping the many scenes where nobody is saying anything but just staring at each other. (There is an admission early in the film, as Alma says, “If you want to have a staring contest with me, you will lose.” The opportunity presented itself often and both were pros at staring.)

Overall, the acting was exceptional. After seeing Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln I was surprised that his normal accent is British. Too bad he announced his retirement after the completion of this film.

The time passed a little faster with the sprinkling of sophisticated humor. Phantom Thread is a well put-together movie and a moving drama. It was one of the strangest love stories I’ve ever seen, but the costumes were fabulous.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 martini glasses.

Maysville Food and Bourbon

17 West 26^th Street, New York

www.maysvillenyc.com

Named after the Kentucky port city on the Ohio River where bourbon was exported, this five-year-old restaurant is the first “whiskey bar” I’ve ever dined at.

Inside, warm shades of milk chocolate on the walls go up to a glowing beige geometric art ceiling, making for a comfortable atmosphere. Large drawings of horses peacefully grazing add to the serene décor while lively conversation is everywhere and rock music plays unobtrusively. 

The bar displays most of their supply of 150 American and international stock of whiskeys and bourbons, most impressive.

The informality of a bare-top, butcher-block table accentuates the relaxed nature of Maysville. Being a gin drinker, I was mesmerized at a spirit list that was much longer than the wine list. But by the time my server Ryan asked, I was ready to order a Sazerac – rye, sugar, Peychaud’s bitters, absinthe and lemon. I’ve had this cocktail in other restaurants and it only varies a little. This one had a spicy quality that I enjoyed along with the sweetish rye flavor.

I didn’t have to look far for the unusual appetizer. The Crispy Grit Croquettes with Smoked Ham and Aged Cheddar were four golden brown logs stacked to look like a hash-tag from above on the plate. I started liking grits on my last trip to Atlanta and these tasted like a breakfast made into finger-food. The corn, ham and cheese flavors mixed with the crunchy coating to create a fun as well as tasty dish.

When I saw the wines-by-the-glass list it was easy to choose one for my dinner. The 2014 Qupé (pronounced Kyoo-pay, the Chumash word for the California poppy) Syrah from Central Coast winery is an unassuming red with a delicate nose, deep red color and almost tart fruit flavor. 

It enhanced the enjoyment of my next dish, the Gumbo – chicken, tasso ham, andouille sausage and Basmati rice. This gumbo flashed my taste memory back to New Orleans. It was thick with disintegrated okra, a rich brown and sharp with cayenne. The wine lit a fire to the spice already there. 

I saw what the couple sitting at the table to my right ordered for dinner and the gentleman’s dish got my attention. The Dirty Rice Risotto with duck bits, pork sausage, and charred red onion was not like the dirty rice one would find in New Orleans but it had all the ingredients plus some. I could taste the liver flavor in the background of the savory notes from the duck and pork. The Arborio rice and glutinous consistency made it obvious that this was a true risotto. When another server set it before me he stated that I was in for a treat. He was right. From the first forkful it was delicious.

The dessert list was surprisingly small. I’ve become jaded with Crème Brulées, but the Maple Bourbon Crème Brulée with Sugar Cookies seemed the right choice for the place. It was excellent.

To accompany the Double Espresso I asked what whiskeys or bourbons would be appropriate. I received a list of about twenty. The last one on the list called out to me. The Yellowstone Bourbon may have a Wyoming-sounding name but it’s from Kentucky. The brand goes back to the 1800s, and was as close to a cognac as a bourbon could come.

Before I left, I asked the gentleman at the next table if he agreed with me about the risotto. He said he wished there was more too. To the server who presented it to me I suggested that with all this bourbon in the house, one of the desserts should necessarily be New Orleans Bread Pudding as made at the famous Brennan’s restaurant. He agreed.

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