In preparation for the score, Greenwood researched the musical trends of the 1950s, referencing Glenn Gould's Bach recordings and the work of Nelson Riddle.

[1] Phantom Thread is a historical drama set in 1950s London about a fictional couturier, Reynolds Woodcock, played by Daniel Day-Lewis.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson initially asked Greenwood for an "English" sound, but they found the folk-influenced orchestral music typical of Britain in the 1950s too "twee" for a London fashion designer like Woodcock.

[3] In particular, Anderson advised Greenwood to research Riddle's score for Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962) and his work with jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.

[5][3] At the same time, he worked to ensure the music was keeping with the 1950s while avoiding any sense of being "tongue-in-cheek" or "ironic", which Greenwood believed was antithetical to the Woodcock's nature.

[3][11] The film also features music Anderson selected by Claude Debussy, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, and Hector Berlioz.

[28] Andrew Male of Mojo gave the soundtrack a perfect score, calling it "an album that goes far beyond emulation or pastiche to capture the emotional heart of a strange and elusive film".

"[36] Charles Steinberg of Under the Radar praised the score's ability to "accompany the precise tone of every scene", "rising and falling with all of its subtleties and secrets" and concluded in saying that Greenwood "now feels essential" as a composer.

"[38] Richard Driver of PopMatters praised the album's sequencing and called it Greenwood's "strongest developed yet, delivering massive impact for the film".

[34] Zack Ruskin of Consequence of Sound praised Greenwood's orchestration for embodying the demeanour of Reynolds Woodcock, but criticised the score's tendency to "spill over and drown the sparse passages of unease that serve as Phantom Thread's emotional center.