Paul Thomas Anderson Ranked Part 2
Now you get to see my top five. Gasp!
Here is part 2:
#5 Licorice Pizza (2021)
A-
I only truly got into Paul Thomas Anderson in 2021, so this was the first film of his I saw in theaters. An experience I won’t forget. But I won’t kid myself about what the movie is.
Similar to Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, this is pure childhood California nostalgia for PTA. And that’s OK. This is by far his funniest film, with constant jokes filled in this odd love story between Gary (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana (Alana Haim).
It doesn’t come without some controversy, though. The age difference (both in the film and real-life) is pretty jarring and there are some racist jokes that weren’t really necessary.
The film is basically broken into small vignettes that feature inane and wacky characters at every turn. There’s always something crazy happening in the valley. None of the characters will bore you, whether it be unhinged stuntman actor Jack Holden, closeted mayoral candidate Joel Wachs (Benny Safdie) or coked-out producer Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper).
Peters in particular steals the show. He was one part completed out of it, other parts wildly focused on a conversation with Gary. He also could go from a normal conversation about his then-girlfriend Barbara Streisand to threatening to kill Gary. Cooper is in the movie for no more than 15 minutes yet he stole the show.
The vignettes served an interesting purpose, to tell the story and growth of Alana. While the film’s promotion made me feel like we would mainly follow Gary, I felt this was much more Alana’s story. She was trying to find herself and meaning in her life by trying a variety of jobs. She works with all of Gary’s money-making endeavors, including opening an arcade and waterbed company. But when Alana looks for someone besides Gary, she goes and works for Wachs’ mayoral campaign or auditions to be an actress.
She hops from one vignette to the next. I equate it to a person walking around a movie theater complex trying to find the right theater and the right film that fits that person. Alana tries to fill the emptiness in her life. And by the end of Licorice Pizza, she does with Gary in front of a movie theater. Funny how that works.
#4 Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
A-
If there is a so-called gap in the rankings. It’s between #4 and #5. These next four films are near the top of my personal favorite films of all time. It pains me to put this film at No. 4. This is might be my favorite romantic film of all time. At the very least it’s up there.
It shocked many that PTA wanted to do a 90-minute love story with Adam Sandler. His longtime producer, JoAnne Sellar, was “befuddled” that he was so intent on getting Sandler. But he was absolutely fantastic as the socially anxious salesman Barry Egan. Sandler brings his manic, frenzied attitude and trademark humor to portray this tortured soul.
Barry is mentally abused and controlled by his seven overbearing sisters, who take any chance to make fun of him and belittle him. This has led to a lot of bottled-up anger and angst that he will release in brief, violent spurts. Angry, lonely young men are a constant throughout PTA’s films until Inherent Vice. It’s almost a switch for Barry throughout the 90 minutes, which kind of goes well with the rest of the film.
Unlike most romance films, Punch-Drunk Love has a fast pace and frantic mood. The camera is constantly moving and shaking and Barry is almost always on-the-go as he faces the stresses of a girlfriend, running a business with Luis Guzman and being hunted down by hitmen from Dean Trumbell (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Jon Brion’s soundtrack, including songs like “Hands and Feet”, back up the film’s energy.
It perfectly contrasts some of the Hollywood musical aspects of the film. The film has beautiful colors and lighting while including artist Jeremy Blake. Brion also incorporates musical rhythms into the soundtrack as well.
The style and pace of the film perfectly show Barry’s internalized feelings of stress and angst about love. But all that changes when he meets Lena (Emily Watson). There are bumps along the road but they eventually fall for each other. It’s perfectly exemplified by the scene in Hawaii when Barry and Lena reunite.
Barry stands in a hotel, waiting for Lena, who went to Hawaii for business. He came to Hawaii to escape Trumbell’s men, but mainly to see her. As he waits, he paces back and forth while the camera shakes. All the while, the song “He Needs Me” from Robert Altman’s 1980 musical Popeye, plays in the background.
But when Lena shows up, the camera stabilizes as Barry’s world starts to calm down once he sees her. And as the two characters embrace, we cut to a wider shot of their silhouettes as many tourists walk by. It’s perfect filmmaking and it’s one of PTA’s best films in terms of showing internalized feelings. It also shows how love can be wild and frantic or punch drunk (yes I know that’s corny).
#3 Boogie Nights (1997)
A-
I was tempted to put Punch-Drunk Love here. But Boogie Nights is too good. It made PTA an instant name and star director. You can feel the young, brash arrogance of the then-26-year-old. The film about Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) and his fellow pornstars has a very assertive quality to it.
Even at such a young age for a director, Anderson flexes his long takes and zany characters to the world. The beginning of the film is a late-70s, early-80s joyride as Diggler becomes one of the stars of the Golden Age of Porn. Diggler is accompanied by a great supporting cast including Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), Buck Swope (Don Cheadle), Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) and "Little Bill" Thompson (William H. Macy). But at the helm was Diggler’s boss and father-figure Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds).
Despite the off-screen tension between Reynolds and PTA, it’s one of the actor's best performances of his storied career. Within the taboo porn industry, Horner creates a family atmosphere.
It’s when the group starts to veer away from each other is when the depressing cracks start to show. After he sees his wife cheat on him, Little Bill kills himself. Amber (actual name Maggie) tried to adopt a daughter but couldn’t. Buck couldn’t start his business due to his porn background. And Dirk’s relationship with Jack falls apart as the young kid spirals out of control. Rarely in ensemble films do you get such complex characters. Yet, Boogie Nights pulls that off.
Of course, this is especially the case with Diggler. We get hints of his sequestered vulnerability as he gets verbally harassed and abused by his mother early on. But as his star power grows, so does his insecurity. It leads to increased use of drugs as he tries to go on his own without Jack watching over him.
When I wrote about The Master, I talked about how finding family was a consistent theme throughout all of Anderson’s films. None of them do it better than Boogie Nights. As the group mostly returns by the end of the film, they start to feel whole again and all the struggles that have happened in their lives are forgotten once they are together.
#2 Phantom Thread (2017)
A
As much as I love the PTA-Joaquin Phoenix collaboration, it isn’t the director’s best. That distinction belongs to the films between Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis, the greatest actor alive (yes I know he’s retired, ugh). It’s why the two films where they work together are at the top of the list. I am aware that spoils what film is number one. But if you’ve read this far and know PTA, you can make a guess.
Anyway, Phantom Thread is one of my favorite films that has come out in the last five years. More importantly, it is my favorite love story from PTA. In this film and Punch-Drunk Love, we find characters, particularly the male ones, sacrificing part of themselves in order to find love. But what makes this costume drama better is the long, arduous and slightly comedic road we take to get there.
Fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is demanding, regimented and has the belief that he is the only person in the world that is right. He has his sister and motherly figure, Cyril (Lesley Manville) oversee the well-oiled machine. But Reynolds is the master of this world.
That is the case until Alma (Vicky Krieps) shows up in his life. As much as she shows love to Reynolds, Alma is not afraid to clash with him. This butting of heads leads Reynolds to verbally and viciously berate Alma at dinner. Every second of their relationship feels like a battle, making a statement on how the director sees marriage. But what makes PTA a cut above is through the subtle moments.
We can infer this dynamic of the relationship through the glances the characters share with one another. Or during the New Year’s Party where Reynolds angrily looks for Alma. In David Fincher’s Gone Girl, we hear the couple in question explicitly state the film’s feelings on marriage. While it is insightful, I love when films respect the audience. And PTA certainly does that.
But nowhere is this more clear than in the film’s conclusion. Alma and Reynolds’ battle becomes more intense and features multiple boiling points. As a result of Reynolds' fierce pushback, she resorts to poisoning him so she can control him. It works as she takes care of him and moves on from his sister and mother's influence on a deeper, subconscious level. He isn’t oblivious, though.
At this point, the audience expects Alma to admit to poisoning him or Reynolds reveals that he knows. But once again, this film is better than that. She never explicitly says it. Rather, Alma says she will continue to control him. Instead of leaving her, Reynolds respects it. On a weird level, this brings them together. Thus, the two have sacrificed part of themselves for each other.
#1 There Will Be Blood (2007)
A+
We’ve reached the op of top-tier movies. I’m not kidding when I say this is in my top five films of all time.1 I’m not alone in thinking this. In 2017, The New York Times ranked There Will Be Blood as the best film of the 21st century so far. It is PTA at his absolute best as he adds a political message for the first time in his legendary career.
Loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s “Oil!”, the film tells the story of American oilman Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he persuades a California town to allow him to drill oil. At the same time, Plainview engages in a rivalry with young preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). On a deeper level, There Will Be Blood shows what happens when greed, family and religion (cornerstones of the United States) intersect in the west.
Both Plainview and Sunday are more interested in gaining money and power from this endeavor, each using their respective career paths. It leads to abandonment, vulnerability and pain for each of the two men and those around them, portraying a brilliant critique of capitalism.
You can even hear it in the soundtrack. For being an epic period drama, Jonny Greenwood’s score (yeah, the Radiohead guy) sounds like it came out of a horror film. Anderson beautifully makes the oil look like blood as one of the early influences for Plainview was actually Count Dracula. The technical aspects back up this idea of capitalism being horrific.
Of course, this film will be remembered for the performance of the lead actor. Day-Lewis brought his famous method acting to bring the best role of his career. Starring as Plainview, Day-Lewis has complete control of his character. It felt like he knew every little detail of Plainview’s life including movements, expressions and emotions. There are obviously the amazing scenes (all of them are tbh) including the milkshake scene, when the oil rig explodes or Plainview’s baptism.2 But it’s in the little moments where the actor’s performance really shines.
When Plainview first meets Eli and his family about negotiating to buy the land, he uses his sales pitch that he routinely uses. He smiles and is very polite to the eldest Sunday (David Willis). But once Plainview realizes that Eli is the head of the family and that the young boy will push back on his offer, he starts getting testy and angry. The veneer is fading. And by the time Eli interrupts him, Plainview ON A DIME goes into a quick rant. It’s marvelous acting from all involved. It’s also brilliant from PTA, too, as the camera astutely identifies the power dynamics of the room.
I wasn’t kidding when I said that nearly every scene was like this. They are all so perfectly crafted and create multi-layered meaning for a story about the woes of capitalism. It’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s best by far.
I’m not 100% certain what my top 10 films of all time are. I would have to think about that a lot.
You don’t have to have seen the film. Just watch Daniel Day-Lewis in them. He’s incredible.