Punch-Drunk Love
Directed by:
Paul Thomas AndersonScreenplay:
Paul Thomas AndersonCinematography:
Robert ElswitComposer:
Jon BrionCast:
Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Robert Smigel, David Stevens, Jonathan Loughran, Don McManus (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Struggling to cope with his erratic temper, novelty toilet plunger salesman Barry Egan (Adam Sandler, demonstrating remarkable versatility in his first dramatic role) spends his days collecting frequent-flyer-mile coupons and dodging the insults of his seven sisters. The promise of a new life emerges when Barry inadvertently attracts the affections of a mysterious woman named Lena (Emily Watson), but their budding relationship is threatened when he falls prey to the swindling operator of a phone sex line and her deranged boss (played with maniacal brio by Philip Seymour Hoffman). (Criterion)
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Reviews (7)
Magnolia tore me up emotionally and Boogie Nights entertained me fantastically. But Punch-Drunk Love – regardless of how innovatively and imaginatively it was directed – didn’t move me at all. It’s a spectacularly stylized void, both emotionally and intellectually.
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Paul Thomas Anderson in to film what like Picasso is to painting, disjointed, abstract, and hard to decipher. Most conventional viewers won't understand him, and a large number of seasoned viewers won't accept him for various reasons, because he is not classical enough and regrettably has the unfortunate quality that his films always seem to have something "more", but that's not always true, which is exactly the case here. Sandler is excellent.
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For P.T. Anderson an unusually short running time, but the enormous potential of this film has been exploited to the hilt. This is no longer "just" (it must be added that this "just" will forever remain a mystery to most filmmakers) a brilliant script supported by extremely imaginative direction, but one of the most impressive films I have ever seen, one with extraordinary charm and enormous heart. In the moments when Barry (Adam Sandler not only surprises but plays his role superbly) suppresses a huge amount of anger, helplessness, and revulsion, I felt a little (a lot) like that – it just blew me away because there is so much feeling and emotion in it I couldn't even manage to "live out" three times :))
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Drunk with confusion. Between a peculiar comedy and a strange attempt at it, there lies sometimes a too thin line. Anderson followed it for so long, until he took a few steps towards the other possibility. I was looking for the promised life romance, believable performances, and the feeling of finding myself. Instead, I got lost.
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Paul Thomas Anderson and I will probably never be close friends. I don't really enjoy his films due to their pace and concept. Adam Sandler shows in this piece that he can act, and I'm glad for that, but despite his presence, I could not get into the movie. The long, boring shots just didn't captivate me, even though at times I thought that the story was developing quite unexpectedly.
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