Punch-Drunk Love
2002 · Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Original language: English
- romance
- drama
- comedy
The story
A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.
What it’s like
Saturated primary colour against washed-out beige: a blue-tinted suit and a red-and-yellow Hawaiian sky in bright, almost painterly daylight, then drab, flat Los Angeles offices and warehouses under fluorescent hum. Paul Thomas Anderson frames tightly and restlessly, with handheld drifts that circle an anxious man in close quarters, and he cuts to abrupt bursts of stillness, so the film feels like a nervous system made visible. Jon Brion's score is a constant pulse of toy pianos and clicking percussion that can tip into dread or into a sudden swell of romance. The mood is wistful and off-kilter, a melancholy bruised by absurd comedy, with a shy, volatile man slowly learning to trust a woman who sees him clearly. Intensity is moderate: sharp outbursts, a few violent scuffles, and a crude, ugly extortion plot. The menace stays mostly verbal and psychological, with some sexual humour and no gore. It suits a late-night, alone-with-the-lights-low watch, and it fits viewers who want an offbeat, unsettling love story with a dreamlike, nostalgic surface.
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