Some films are able to deeply capture the essence of a particular trait. Through them, you witness and infer its patterns and functions, what it conceals about the individual’s values and even fears. Perfectionism, the belief that one has to be perfect all of the time, everywhere, and to everyone (and/or that another ought to be perfect for them), is flawlessly exhibited in the 2017 film Phantom Thread, about the fictitious fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock, who operates a fashion house in 1950s London. To say Reynolds is meticulous is an understatement.

Reynolds is deeply self-possessed, embodying many of the mantras of the contemporary self-help industry. Emotions are his enemies. And much of his rigidity is aimed at suppressing them. He silences chaos with routine, external noise through shame, and people with rage. Seldom is there deep refection. Hardly does he ask: Why does this bother me so much? Is there something about it that makes me feel afraid? He lives on almost pure instinct and compulsivity. To Reynold’s, on the surface, everything merely feels like something to be owned and contorted; he treats his partners as he treats his dresses — remolding nature into his image.

In some ways, he is a god. In a conversation with a woman he later........

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