It's pretty clear that Adam Sandler's career has taken a long public nose-dive. (Albeit, a dive into a pile of money - a la Scrooge McDuck. Or so I imagine.) But "Punch-Drunk Love" reveals what might have been if Sandler had shunned the easy money and challenged himself with different roles.
The character of Barry Egan is, by far, Sandler's most complex role, even though the character's volatile background is not much of a stretch from some of his earlier characters. Egan is basically on the razor's edge of sanity, reading to break at any given moment despite his attempts to control his temper. This trait is exacerbated by his sisters who refuse to let him forget some of his previous violent outbursts, even as they try to set him up with a romantic entanglement. He obsesses over small details, and is secretly trying to take advantage of a loophole in a frequent-flyer program. All of which leads to a breaking point when, in a moment of weakness, he calls the wrong phone-companionship line. (Billy Madison - eat your heart out!)
The question becomes whether Sandler himself always has the potential he shows in this film, or whether it's Paul Thomas Anderson's masterful direction which forces Sandler to transcend his usual abilities.
Let's face it - Anderson does a great job with everything he does. He has a magic touch. The story of "Punch-Drunk Love" is incredibly simple - boy falls in love, makes mistake, tries to earn his love back. These elements often spell trouble - sailing waters littered with cliche and kitsch often appealing mainly to lovelorn teenagers. But Anderson doesn't let his film stoop to that level. In fact, the early introduction of the phone-sex storyline makes it very clear that this movie is meant for a more mature audience. He raises this style of film to an art. (And how do you know it's art? Well, it features an appearance by Philip Seymour Hoffman, for one.)
One of the standout elements of the film is the constant tension. I found my jaw clenching at numerous points and needed to pace around the room. This is intensified by the pounding score (apparently written, at least in part, by Anderson himself) which relentlessly increases the pulse of every scene. Every awkward moment is magnified to a potentially life-changing event.
I hadn't seen this movie in several years (and that was long before I took my movie-watching somewhat seriously or even knew what a P.T. Anderson was), but I remembered enjoying it. Revisiting the film, it was actually better than I remembered it.
It's not a lightweight film. But it's well worth the heavy-lifting.
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