At the beginning of the film, the heroine Alma seems to be talking to someone, and she recalls all the things that she has been with Reynolds so far...
The male protagonist, Reynolds, is probably the most demanding man in the world, and he and his sister Cyril run their own clothing design brand in London, customizing dresses for celebrities from all walks of life. Reynolds are extremely demanding of work and life, as well as others, and are irritable when they are not satisfied. On this day he finally got tired of his girlfriend again, and Cyril sent the woman away as usual.
Reynolds comes to the countryside for a break, and he meets Alma, a lovely waiter at a restaurant, where Reynolds invites her to dinner. After dinner, Reynolds took Alma to his country residence and asked her to take off her coat to measure the size, which turned out to be the perfect figure in his eyes. Cyril also came in to help with the record, which left Alma a little overwhelmed.
Alma came to London, she helped Reynolds try on clothes day and night, as his model, but still by the sisters and brothers think that there is no taste, although not very happy, Alma still insists on her own aesthetic, from time to time to talk back to Reynolds. Alma tries to fit in, but it is difficult to adapt to the rhythm of the brother and sister's tacit understanding for many years.
After a costume show, Reynolds is exhausted, Alma takes good care of him, and he is as fragile as a child, dependent on Alma. Only after the recovery, the relationship between the two is as usual, and Alma is also more and more confused about her identity, she is both Reynolds's girlfriend, but also his model, female worker, but what position is she in his heart.
In order to get closer to the relationship, Alma wanted to surprise Reynolds in her own way, and she cut off the others and made an exquisite dinner for him alone. Reynolds, however, did not appreciate it, he did not like any surprise accidents in life, and the two finally broke out at the dinner table to quarrel.
Reynolds was busy customizing wedding dresses for the royal princess when he suddenly fell ill and fell down, and he was dependent on Alma like a child. The next day, the wedding dress was delivered, and Alma took care of the Reynolds while rushing to work with the tailors. Finally getting better, Reynolds experienced this illness, began to feel the impermanence of life in his heart, and realized the importance of Alma to him, and he begged Alma to marry him.
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The two had a sweet honeymoon, but Alma's occasional vulgar behavior still upset Reynolds. On the day of the new Chinese New Year's Eve, Alma gambled and ran to the dance party alone, Reynolds did not care about it, the more relieved she was, and hesitated to follow again. Reynolds finally found Alma in the prom crowd, and the two awkwardly returned home together.
After a short time, Reynolds increasingly felt that Alma's presence had broken everything in his life, making him feel extremely upset and began to want Alma to leave. And his words with his sister just made Alma hear them.
On this day, Alma cooks dinner for Reynolds, and he looks at the sick poisonous mushrooms in his bowl and eats them willingly. When the pain hit, Reynolds returned to a helpless and docile state, and the relationship between the two reached a balance.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) is the most famous master director of the American era, and this 2017 "Phantom Sewer" is his most recent feature film. Many people think that a master director is simply too big to make a love film, but PTA portrays the mutual game in love in three points.
Alma was completely inferior at the beginning, and she broke into the male protagonist's world from an ordinary background, although there were various compromises, but she still insisted on her personality and was not completely overwhelmed by the colorful world. She also saw through at a glance that Reynolds was essentially just a spoiled child, and only by making him vulnerable could he truly intervene in his world, and Reynolds did not enjoy the feeling of being taken care of by her.
Many people may feel that the relationship in the film is a little perverted, but this is exactly the director's artistic exaggeration, reflecting that love is not simply mutual liking, including the relationship between all people, there needs to be a dynamic balance. There is control, there is more resistance, there is vulnerability, there is anger, this is the most delicate complex emotions that belong to human beings.