Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

argonaute82 Horrible horrible movie!! Don't watch it! Huge waste of time!!!

classicsoncall As the story plays out, the viewer is expected to take a lot on faith regarding the characters and their motivations. For example, it defies credibility that a phone-sex line would have it's telephone number linked to a legitimate business in a way that Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) could determine Dean Trumbell's (Philip Seymour Hoffman) identity. Or Barry handing the tire iron back to the thug he didn't take his revenge out on. Or the thugs not regrouping to wreak further havoc on Barry since they knew where he lived. I like quirky movies and quirky characters, but I'm not sure if I liked this film all that much. The attraction between Lena (Emily Watson) and Barry seemed genuine enough, but she struck me as kind of a creepy character too. Something about her shifty look and lack of curiosity about the bathroom incident in the restaurant. There was nothing in her personality to suggest that she was on some level of professionalism to be making numerous business trips around the country. Now Dean, I could buy into his neurotic character, unsure of himself in personal relationships and overwhelmed by seven sisters who seemed to take delight in treating him like the unstable person he was. And regarding matters of privacy, you couldn't tell one sister about something without all the rest learning about it sooner or later.So when all this plays out with Barry and Lena finally hooking up, it's not like it wasn't expected or that you couldn't see it coming. That was a given the moment she left her car off for the mechanic. I don't begrudge either of them achieving some sense of normalcy in their lives, but if the harmonium and pudding were any indication, Barry really did need a shrink. And maybe Lena too. As well as Dean and his secretary. For a real sense of closure, I would have expected Dean to get his five hundred bucks back.

tomgillespie2002 When asked what his next project would be following the success of his L.A. ensemble one-two of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson responded that he would be making an Adam Sandler movie. He was met with a hearty chuckle by whoever was interviewing him, but little did they know that a comedy starring most people's - at least I would hope - least favourite comedy star was actually on the cards. Punch-Drunk Love ended up taking home the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, but was undoubtedly Anderson's most divisive film. Surprisingly short and often incredibly weird, the film has garnered more and more respect and appreciation amongst fans and critics over the last 15 years, and many now even consider it to be the director's best work in a catalogue that includes the likes of There Will Be Blood and The Master.Punch-Drunk Love revolves around Barry Egan (Sandler), a troubled and socially-awkward salesman of toilet plungers and various other novelty items. Forever bedecked in a blue suit and red tie combination, Barry tries to keep to himself while harbouring a hatred for his inability to be 'normal', but his seven hen-pecking and overbearing sisters are constantly trying to 'bring him out of his shell'. Whenever his sisters mention the way they treated him as a child, he responds in a fit of rage. A family party is brought to a swift end when he kicks through patio doors after being reminded of a particularly cruel childhood nickname. He finds solace in a harmonium he finds dumped outside his work's warehouse, and eventually in an English woman named Lena (Emily Watson) introduced to him by his sister Elizabeth (Mary Lynn Rajskub). They like each other straight away, but she travels a lot, so Barry starts to take full advantage of a marketing loop-hole that will grant him a lifetime of air miles through purchasing mass quantities of cheap pudding.Anderson is apparently fond of Sandler's work, so he obviously sees something in the actor whose success has left many of us befuddled. Sandler typically plays the same person: The childish slacker who is a nice guy deep down, but prone to outbursts of rage. He plays very much the same here, only he is likeable and sympathetic, delivering his best performance to date. When he isn't smashing up a restaurant toilet or bruising his hand on his office wall, Sandler is remarkably subtle, mixing up his words in a nervous tic and struggling to meet people's gaze. In his loneliness, Barry phones a sex-line and ends up on the receiving end of a blackmail scheme run by scumbag mattress-store owner Dean (Philip Seymour Hoffman). It's all over the place in terms of plot, but Punch-Drunk Love is very much a character piece built around a troubled yet fascinating man finally finding love in the chaos of his life and his own mind. It's an acquired taste, but far more accessible than some of Anderson's later work, especially The Master and Inherent Vice. We probably all know a Barry but have likely kept our distance, but Punch-Drunk Love is brave enough to place him front and centre, lending a voice to the type of introvert misunderstood and viewed with suspicion by most.

erosthanatosfilms This film should serve as proof that PTA not only knows how to tell a small story but also knows how to write for specific people, creating characters that they were destined to play. Their lives had led to the moment in which they will be in a PTA film, in this particular case it was Adam Sandler. What a performance! Seriously. Many of those who have analyzed this film have stated that he's essentially taken the man- child he's typecast himself into and brought it into the real world. The world that has consequences and brings profound loneliness. Recommended to those who enjoy Sandler but want to see more range and also to anyone looking for a super weird rom-com.