Like Wes Anderson, P.T.A. is known for his collaborations with many actors on his films, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, William H. Macy and, most recently, Joaquin Phoenix. He has also directed actors to give some truly career defining performances, most notably Daniel Day-Lewis (it's a performance that really sticks out in a career of amazing ones) and Adam Sandler (who surprised everyone).
Anderson's main themes used throughout his films are dysfunctional families, alienation and loneliness. Most of his characters are flawed and seek to redeem themselves from these flaws through their interaction with others.
Boogie Nights (1997)
"I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star."
Anderson has spoken openly about the amount of porn he watched in his teenage years to inspire the making of this film. It chronicles the meteoric rise of young porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), as he rises to fame in the adult film world, mentored by producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds).
As much as this is a film about the Golden Era of Pornography in the late 1970s, it can also be viewed as modern tragedy with an almost dynastic feel to it, as Dirk is taken in by an unlikely family that rises and falls. Toward the end of the film there are some really scary scenes where the characters reach desperate times and do whatever they can to stay in the lives they have created for themselves and realise life is harder than they wanted it to be.
The film sports some amazing performances, including that of its star Mark Wahlberg. Although he'd been in movies before this one, it's his performance as Dirk that really shows that he had some great skills when it came to being a serious actor. John C. Reilly gives one of my favourite performances of his as fellow actor Reed Rothchild and Phil Hoffman is just hilarious as Scotty, a sound guy who falls in love with Dirk. That's not to mention other great performances offered up by Julianne Moore, Heather Graham and Don Cheadle.
Punch Drunk Love (2002)
"I have a love in my life and that makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."
Barry Egan (Sandler) is a timid, shy and single man who owns a warehouse that markets novelty items. He has seven sisters who all abuse him emotionally to the point of lashing out. One day he meets Lena (Emily Watson), whom he falls in love with immediately. Barry is also being extorted by a phone sex operator, whose boss is the explosive Dean Trumbell (Phil Hoffman again).
The world that Anderson has created with this film is extremely developed. Barry wears a blue suit for the whole movie and it is hinted that this is the first time that he has worn the suit, leading you to think what he usually wears that makes this such a surprise for the other characters. The film also has an exceptionally intriguing subplot in which Barry discovers that he can get around a loophole in a coupon deal for cheap air miles by buying extremely large quantities of chocolate pudding, leading to a superb little dance in a supermarket aisle and me thinking if he isn't slightly autistic.
The film has a surreal quality to it, with vibrant colours distorting the frame constantly, as well as lens flares that would make J.J. Abrams blush. Most of the music adds to the feeling; the main music is played on a harmonium, which gives the film a calming quality. The calmness is intercut with high intensity sounds that are repeated (I wouldn't necessarily call it music) at times when the characters are under pressure.
Every so often Adam Sandler offers up a performance that proves he can beyond shabbadoo and it takes a director like Anderson or Judd Apatow with Funny People (2009) to bring it out of him. Barry is a nervous, compulsive character and Sandler handles him well. Phil Hoffman's Dean Trumbell is an amazing powder-keg of a man and although Hoffman is only on screen for a total of five minutes, he leaves a lasting impression.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
"There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet! No one can get at it except for me!"
For most audiences, the idea of a movie about oil drilling, especially in the early 1900s, would sound incredibly boring. But when a director such as Anderson combines forces with an actor like Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the greatest actors alive, it makes for an extremely captivating movie.
Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) is an oil baron who has oil drilling operations all around the state of California. His attention is brought to a possible oil claim in the small settlement of Little Boston, where he buys a ranch from the Sunday family, where he believes the oil is. He soon comes to confront Eli Sunday, one of the sons and pastor of the community's parish.
This is Anderson's best film. It looks at both dysfunctional families and greed. As the film progresses, Daniel does more and more heinous things to increase his wealth, whilst becoming more and more distant from his adopted son, H.W. Day-Lewis gives his only Oscar-worthy performance in this movie, he is absolutely terrifying to watch. Paul Dano gives an equally good performance as the pious Eli Sunday.
The Master (2012)
"If you figure out a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let us know, will you? For you'd be the first person in the history of the world."
Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is an alcoholic WWII veteran who is struggling to find purpose after the war. He crosses paths with Lancaster Dodd (Phil Hoffman), the charismatic leader of a philosophical movement known as "The Cause." Freddie soon gets caught up in this movement and sees a great man in Dodd.
The parallels between this movie and the origin of the Church of Scientology are present and in a way too big to ignore, but Anderson is making a much broader statement about the nature of man. The fact that Freddie needs a master like he is some sort of animal shows that man would be aimless without a person in an authority position. When Freddie leaves the embrace of the group, he has no idea what to do with himself.
Although Joaquin Phoenix is the lead actor in the film, Hoffman steals all the scenes he is in. Dodd is an intensely complex character who only wants what is best for his family and his followers, but you can really see that he feeds off the power he gets from being in front of a crowd.
"I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star."
Anderson has spoken openly about the amount of porn he watched in his teenage years to inspire the making of this film. It chronicles the meteoric rise of young porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), as he rises to fame in the adult film world, mentored by producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds).
As much as this is a film about the Golden Era of Pornography in the late 1970s, it can also be viewed as modern tragedy with an almost dynastic feel to it, as Dirk is taken in by an unlikely family that rises and falls. Toward the end of the film there are some really scary scenes where the characters reach desperate times and do whatever they can to stay in the lives they have created for themselves and realise life is harder than they wanted it to be.
The film sports some amazing performances, including that of its star Mark Wahlberg. Although he'd been in movies before this one, it's his performance as Dirk that really shows that he had some great skills when it came to being a serious actor. John C. Reilly gives one of my favourite performances of his as fellow actor Reed Rothchild and Phil Hoffman is just hilarious as Scotty, a sound guy who falls in love with Dirk. That's not to mention other great performances offered up by Julianne Moore, Heather Graham and Don Cheadle.
Punch Drunk Love (2002)
"I have a love in my life and that makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."
Barry Egan (Sandler) is a timid, shy and single man who owns a warehouse that markets novelty items. He has seven sisters who all abuse him emotionally to the point of lashing out. One day he meets Lena (Emily Watson), whom he falls in love with immediately. Barry is also being extorted by a phone sex operator, whose boss is the explosive Dean Trumbell (Phil Hoffman again).
The world that Anderson has created with this film is extremely developed. Barry wears a blue suit for the whole movie and it is hinted that this is the first time that he has worn the suit, leading you to think what he usually wears that makes this such a surprise for the other characters. The film also has an exceptionally intriguing subplot in which Barry discovers that he can get around a loophole in a coupon deal for cheap air miles by buying extremely large quantities of chocolate pudding, leading to a superb little dance in a supermarket aisle and me thinking if he isn't slightly autistic.
The film has a surreal quality to it, with vibrant colours distorting the frame constantly, as well as lens flares that would make J.J. Abrams blush. Most of the music adds to the feeling; the main music is played on a harmonium, which gives the film a calming quality. The calmness is intercut with high intensity sounds that are repeated (I wouldn't necessarily call it music) at times when the characters are under pressure.
Every so often Adam Sandler offers up a performance that proves he can beyond shabbadoo and it takes a director like Anderson or Judd Apatow with Funny People (2009) to bring it out of him. Barry is a nervous, compulsive character and Sandler handles him well. Phil Hoffman's Dean Trumbell is an amazing powder-keg of a man and although Hoffman is only on screen for a total of five minutes, he leaves a lasting impression.
"There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet! No one can get at it except for me!"
For most audiences, the idea of a movie about oil drilling, especially in the early 1900s, would sound incredibly boring. But when a director such as Anderson combines forces with an actor like Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the greatest actors alive, it makes for an extremely captivating movie.
Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) is an oil baron who has oil drilling operations all around the state of California. His attention is brought to a possible oil claim in the small settlement of Little Boston, where he buys a ranch from the Sunday family, where he believes the oil is. He soon comes to confront Eli Sunday, one of the sons and pastor of the community's parish.
This is Anderson's best film. It looks at both dysfunctional families and greed. As the film progresses, Daniel does more and more heinous things to increase his wealth, whilst becoming more and more distant from his adopted son, H.W. Day-Lewis gives his only Oscar-worthy performance in this movie, he is absolutely terrifying to watch. Paul Dano gives an equally good performance as the pious Eli Sunday.
The Master (2012)
"If you figure out a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let us know, will you? For you'd be the first person in the history of the world."
Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is an alcoholic WWII veteran who is struggling to find purpose after the war. He crosses paths with Lancaster Dodd (Phil Hoffman), the charismatic leader of a philosophical movement known as "The Cause." Freddie soon gets caught up in this movement and sees a great man in Dodd.
Although Joaquin Phoenix is the lead actor in the film, Hoffman steals all the scenes he is in. Dodd is an intensely complex character who only wants what is best for his family and his followers, but you can really see that he feeds off the power he gets from being in front of a crowd.
No comments:
Post a Comment