Punch-Drunk Love

Written and Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson












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.

The Ides of March

Directed by: George Clooney

Written by: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon

It's not too often that a good political thriller comes along anymore, but "The Ides of March" fills that need exceptionally well.

Stephen Meyers (Gosling) is an up-and-coming campaign strategist who has hitched his wagon to the presidential primary campaign of Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) because of Morris's take-no-prisoners and tell-no-lies style. But when Meyers is contacted by a rival campaign manager (Giamatti), it begins a chain of events that threatens to destroy Meyers's career and derail the Morris campaign entirely. It is in this face of adversity that the characters reveal their true selves and what they are willing to do to take power.

To start, the acting in this film is fantastic. Gosling is just about the weakest link, and it's merely because he under plays his part, which is a bit tough to deal with given that he's protagonist. Marisa Tomei's character of the nitty-gritty-political-journalist is completely unnecessary except to advance one minor plot hitch, but she does a solid job considering the minor role. Clooney and Giamatti are at the top of their game, as is Philip Seymour Hoffman.

What this film does exceptionally well, which has not yet been tackled by a modern political thriller, is show the workings of a modern campaign. Not since "Primary Colors" has a high-profile film tried to cover contemporary election tactics. And "Primary Colors" was based clearly on the Clinton campaign, but "The Ides of March" is not based on an actual campaign, although there are references and allusions to some recent strategies.

There movie does rely on a cliche plot twist at a major key point, which is rather disappointing. (I can't give it away here, as it is basically the climactic turn.) I just felt that with all the creative starts and turns, there could have been something more original to use at that point. To give credit, that one twist was predictable, but how that twist plays out and affects the story is more more effectively done.

Kudos to Clooney for making the film. It was effective and enjoyable.

Moneyball

Directed by: Bennett Miller

Written by: Steven Zaillian (screenplay), Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Stan Chervin (story), Michael Lewis (book)

Michael Lewis's book "Moneyball" shook up the traditional understanding of baseball by introducing the general population to the hard statistical analysis of the game known as "sabermetrics." The narrative focuses on the Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and his attempt to build a winning team on a limited budget using sabermetrics to identify undervalued players.

The movie "Moneyball" takes the Billy Beane narrative from the book, but abandons essentially all of the history and evolution of baseball statistics. Unfortunately, this leaves "inside references" in the film that only those who have read the book will understand, leaving anyone else to scratch their head and wonder what the characters were talking about. (The most notable example are numerous references to Bill James - the father of sabermetrics - who received significant attention in the book, but is only occasionally referenced.)

This movie came with a lot of baggage, including the epic timeline it took to get produced. From when it was originally announced, directors and actors came and went on a carousel. At one point, Paul DePodesta - a major figure in the book - asked that his name be removed from the film, so the character's name was changed to Peter Brand.

Much of the buzz surrounding the film originally was about Brad Pitt's performance. I have to say he's good, but hard to tell whether Brad Pitt's acting was actually good, or whether he's just playing the same character over and over again. I'm not willing to jump on the Oscar bandwagon for this one, though it's definitely worth an honorable mention. The trade deadline scene is fantastic, though, and may be the key in getting him nominated.

What made the book great was the balance of Billy Beane's personal story and the rise of sabermetric analysis in baseball. Although the film is good, the limited scope removed much of the context. I found myself having to explain several concepts to my wife after the movie - not because she is clueless, but because the movie left them unexplained.

This movie is good, but unless you're a hardcore baseball stat geek, you may need to just roll with the punches at a few points.

The Big Lebowski

Directed by: Joel Coen

Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

The Coen brothers are known for making comedies which are both dark and surreal. It's films like "The Big Lebowski" - following up "Fargo" - which helped them to earn this reputation.

When Jeffrey Lebowski, aka The Dude (Bridges) is the ultimate lowlife who spends his time drinking White Russians, bowling with his buddies, and wearing a robe. When the wife of multimillionaire businessman Jeffrey Lebowski goes missing, The Dude is brought in to solve the case. Through the meddling of his friend Walter (Goodman) and his "ladyfriend" (Moore), The Dude gets drawn deeper and deeper in a case that goes far beyond a kidnapping.

The plot, loosely based on the old noir mysteries of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, simply serves as a backdrop for the incredibly interesting characters. Without going too over-the-top, the characters come off as both surreal and hyper-real. For example, we all know someone like Walter, who is just a hair away from totally crazy, and we all know someone like Donny (Buscemi), who never seems to fit in - even as a misfit. Yet, nobody in real life is quite as off-base as any of the characters. Overall, it's the performances - especially the supporting cast - which bring this film to life.

Although the movie was whimsical and abstract with randomness as a premium, I still felt like there was a lot of fat that could have been trimmed, or at least tweaked. For example, I totally enjoyed Julianne Moore's character, but many of her scenes failed to add anything meaningful to the film beyond giving The Dude something to do. Sam Elliot's appearance as The Stranger is a perfect example of a character who, without being central to the story, was made into an essential feature of the movie.

Over the years, "The Big Lebowski" has become a cult classic, and it's easy to see why. It's not a typical plot or action driven movie. The main character would struggle to even be an anti-hero. And there are random dream and dance sequences. But put them all together, and there's a charming synergy which appeals to the Big Lebowski in all of us.