The Best of PT Anderson

What I was most surprised about when I heard about this at the beginning of the year, was that it was PTA who was doing it. I loved both Boogie Nights and Magnolia, and had been impartial to Punch-Drunk Love, but watching this the other day, I found such a striking difference between the then and now, and it was nice to see him wholly successful in it.

Day-Lewis give a grand performance mainly in a style that is not as bombastic or as pronounced as some of his other roles. Plainview's characteristics are there, yes, but you have to dig deep below the surface to find them. The greed he has for oil, for money, the hate he has for others is not as apparent like a Michael Douglas in Wall Street, Day-Lewis has formulated every sensation, every feeling of Plainview's and put it into the character's soul. The trueness of Plainview lies there waiting, it flashes very little, save the one time he lets his guard down to his "brother" - you can feel a difference, an honesty, a realness that is hollow which reverberates with a horse laugh and a glint in the eyes.
The voice captures me most thinking back to his performance now and I love the way Ebert puts it: "The voice of the oil man sounds made of oil, gristle and syrup. It is deep and reassuring, absolutely sure of itself, and curiously fraudulent. No man who sounds this forthright can be other than a liar."

The direction was fantastic: it doesn't feel overly wrought, like Anderson is trying to present you with an epic i.e. Atonement; the cinemtography is exquisitely handled (and better than most of the Oscar noms); and the musical score seems to win out as the show-stealer. It is eerie for the most part, and therefore shapes your view of scenes in a different way than if they had had the usual music treatment. The reason it is so effective in what it does is because it gives you a sound that is disconcerting, but when you look at the film, you go, "why should I be scared here?" When you get to the maniacal climax though, you realize what the music has been trying to tell you all along.

Even in its length, you find yourself amazed by how fast it goes by. The cast is exceptionally handled and Reynolds really stands out. Anderson is brilliant in both writing and directing in his debut. Who knew a movie about porn could be so good.

Exodus 8:2 - Paul Thomas Anderson makes this the crux for his brilliant ensemble piece. The character study is fantastic and it is a marvel to watch how all the characters manage to be pulled together, almost inexplicably (watch out for the prophet). Amazingly well written and deftly directed. The film can be a bit polarizing, especially the wtc ending, but if you open up to it, surrender to it, it is totally worth it.

The last scene is so perfect!

While I love PTA, I just feel this one is out of place compared to his other big 3; and as much as I love Adam Sandler for doing something which stretches him past gay jokes, it's just not what I hoped it would be. Still, it's a nice quirky, romance comedy and was enjoyable for the one viewing.

A fine first film from PT Anderson. Impressive turns from Baker Hall, Paltrow, Reilly, and a great "cameo" from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Both the writing and the direction carrying signature moves that are carried over into his other films It's a slight disappointment, maybe because I was expecting something different having seen all his other features before this. It's a small story, very low key and slowly paced, something very unexpected from PTA and I had to get used to that. This allows for great character development though, and PTA always delivers this. (The film almost has a play-like feel to it.) The twist that comes towards the latter part of the film catches you off guard and adds some verve, some intensity to the last half of the film. I appreciate the film and recognize where it took PTA, but it's hard to sit here and say it's even close to being on par with his best work. Some debuts are great, but this one is just happy to be a canon film.