Why do we always get lost in a relationship? Why does the PUA in the relationship happen repeatedly? Why do we speak the truth to other people's problems with reason, but we can't do anything about our own problems? Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA), in his film Phantom Thread, shows us the nature of a relationship in an extreme form.
Movies about intimacy tend to follow a traditional theatrical approach—character arcs intersecting with each other, falling into a new steady state following a series of events. On closer inspection, we will find that this may be the emotional structure that the Hollywood value system has handed over to us - after the mutual influence that intimacy brings to each other, we all become new selves. And this intimacy is just an accumulation of a fuller "self." Just like the reconciliation of the two families brought about by the last two children in "Juno", which retells the self-worth in intimate relationships, while "La La Land" tells a love story, their final destination still falls on "Self", the self cannot be lost. We see that "a relationship makes us a better version of ourselves" has been said in various ways, and it conforms to the value orientation of our time. In "Phantom Thread", we can still see such a character arc, but it does not seem to compromise with a value, but only tells the "intimacy" itself in a closed environment. In traditional Hollywood-style plays, "intimacy" is open to the outside world, guided by a humanistic value light, but often obscured by the emotion itself. In the 2020 Oscar-nominated "Marriage Story", we can see how two people who enter the "marriage" relationship deal with the "love" that has been put on hold, and the power of reason begins to re-involve the discussion of "intimacy". But Phantom Thread doesn't. What we see is the presentation of a relationship itself. Return to the essence of emotion, return to the failure of rationality, return to the "red-eyed stare".
While Reynolds offered to lead Alma into his world, Alma quietly led this intimate confrontation. The episode where Reynolds tries on Alma's clothes can be seen as the first episode of their intimacy, and the first step in their confrontation. Alma accepts Reynolds for her fitting, seemingly entering his world, under his control like a model. And a few details revealed her difference. Reynolds' sister came upstairs to see her, and walked towards her proudly, while Alma didn't take a step forward, just stood on the box, high above the ground Shake hands with her. When her sister stood up, she didn't flinch at all. Reynolds took her measurements to get her on her feet, which is generally a confirmation of an "obedience relationship" that she just needs to agree to. But she said that she has always stood like this. Faced with two people of considerable social status, Alma's strength has kept her from giving up "control" in a relationship.
In the fitting clip of the clothing store that followed, Alma even directly expressed "I don't like this fabric". This irritated the ever-proud Reynolds, who showed his usual toughness: "Cyril is always right. She's right not because Cyril says our guests like the fabric. It's because it fits. Because it's beautiful." This is the maintenance of the "craft" that allows him to maintain his self-esteem, and it is also a subconscious attempt to firmly control his relationship with Alma. Before Reynolds' fragile shell shattered, he was the first to show toughness. He maintained his behavior without a doubt, scolding Alma for disturbing him, while Alma was the "defensive" side, she was soft but soft. Extremely resilient, he accepted Reynolds's repeated shocks and gradually embraced him with a soft wrap.
The so-called "break-in" in an intimate relationship is actually a process of "making the rules" for the relationship. In many cases, one party becomes the main setter of the rules, while the other party is willing to be the obeyer. Before we define "love", we first have our own psychological personality attributes. The achievement of a relationship often relies on the tension of this personality attribute. Alma's counterattack began with the incident where she did not allow Reynolds' custom dress to be worn on the distinguished Mrs. Rose's room under Reynolds' shelter. Ignoring the servant's obstruction, Alma went straight to Mrs. Rose's bed and took off the skirt of Mrs. Rose, who had fallen on the bed drunk. One thing left: You can't be so absurd in a Woodcock dress. This can be seen as her tough claim to "Reynolds Woodcock". At this time, she has the power of a mother, like taking back a toy that is very important to the child, which is also a symbol of her "possession" of the child. Here, Freud's "Oedipus complex" echoes a certain "maternal" concern in an intimate relationship. As Freud's psychoanalysis said, the subconscious mind is the stronger consciousness.
In a purely "relationship" presentation, all explicit representations are false. The film calmly separates the ideological guidance and immerses itself in a discussion of "what emotion is." It can be seen that, just as the essence of "mind control" does not depend on theory, the decoding of "mind control" can never use "psychological counseling" or "value guidance" as a good medicine. We are always comfortable when we enter what others see as pathological. The fascinating thing about emotion is that there is no creed there, and we can only achieve a steady state of our own after experiencing it again and again. In fact, this film is not completely free from ideological contamination: the romantic style of classical Gothic, the candlelight flickering in the lonely space, and the elegant sound of the piano from time to time, they highlight the "exquisite" built by the upper class. game". And Alma barged in, always smiling softly at this elegant man. She recreated Reynolds' hard-to-eat buttered bamboo shoots and fed him. At this moment, Reynolds could only hold his fork in his mouth, showing a little boyish smile.
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