Sumptuous sets, lavish costumes, and a razor-sharp, high-wire score all find their perfect part in the story of the fussy, demanding dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock. Messr. Woodcock is the mother’s boy par excellence–he has a lock of his deceased mother’s hair sewn into his jacket. But his safe routines and work habits are threatened with the arrival of his noisy new muse, Alma. (A name that, rightly or wrongly, conjures the alma mater: literally “kind, nourishing mother.”) There’s a lot to unpack here, and you’re welcome to help do so at tomorrow’s round table discussion – where we’ll attempt to sort out this tale’s tangled threads.
This review originally appeared in the Austin School of Film’s recommendations blog, MIX/VHS. Check out the full post here, including critical looks at Michael Bay and David Lynch!