Tuesday, 28 October 2014

I don't know if there is anything wrong because I don't know how other people are

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Beautiful, odd, funny, tense. Paul Thomas Anderson packs more feeling into this 90mins than most manage over a career.
Adam Sandler has never been better than here, all repressed (and not) rage. His Barry is disconnected from the world, he doesn't understand how he should feel, so the standard Sandler style gags (of which there are a few) seem fresh and strange.
The Jon Brion score is terrific, aurally complimenting the sparse offbeat tone, making great use of a song from the generally neglected Robin Williams Popeye movie, but just as importantly knowing when to let silence carry the day (especially as the sound design is great).
Colour literally washes over the screen at points but carries through, Watson's apartment is only ever seen from the long white labyrinthine corridors outside it, Hawaii is lush with pink hue. Reflecting Sandler's state of mind.
Everything is just on top form, the camera is deliberate, unsubtle but graceful, certainly no other rom-com has ever looked or sounded like this.
A true original and as impacting as the day it was made. 

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