Welcome to ‘The Director’s Cut’ a space where I take a look at some of the career defining films by some of our favourite directors. Championed by critics or loved by the masses, every director has their own unique style that gets audiences talking. With this blog I’ll be breaking down 3 of their most influential films and their impact on the wider world of cinema.
From a young age, Paul Thomas Anderson was one of those people destined to make it as a Hollywood director. Making his feature film debut in 1996 with Hard Eight, this was only the beginning for a director whose true strength is in the depth and development of his characters. In a Paul Thomas Anderson film everything is relevant, nothing is accidental, and it is the care that he takes in establishing his characters that leave people effortlessly immersed in each of his films.
Boogie Nights (1997)
With a huge ensemble cast buoyed by the on-screen presence’s
of Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg, and John C. Reilly to name a
few, Boogie Nights is the unforgettable story of the 1970’s and 80’s
porn industry with the extreme highs and devastating lows that came with it. The
film largely follows Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), the nightclub worker whose
chance encounter with adult film director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) allows
him to pursue a career in the booming adult film industry. Within a few months
Eddie Adams is the exciting new prospect on the adult film scene, already renamed
as the striking ‘Dirk Diggler’. With Dirk Diggler, Reed Rothschild (John C.
Reilly), Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) and many more, Jack Horner manages to
establish an impressive roster of young, attractive stars who take his name to
the top of the success chain.
On the surface, Boogie Nights may seem like one big
porno, it is absolutely not. Paul Thomas Anderson does an exceptional job at
dropping beneath that early assumption and into the hopes and dreams of all of
his characters, humanising them. These hopes and dreams manifest themselves profoundly
in Buck (Don Cheadle), who is regarded by all of his peers as being a great
actor with a charming personality. Nevertheless, Buck has ambitions that will
take him away from porn. He has a vision to open his own stereo store, selling
the highest quality of stereo’s at discount prices to share his love of music
with everyone. Sadly, his background in porn becomes a stumbling block in his
journey to move on from the adult film industry. Buck is only one of the case
studies in the deep character driven plot that Boogie Nights becomes, a
valuable lesson by a brave director in character development.
At the time of Boogie Nights’ release, it never achieved any
notable box office success, but I don’t think Paul Thomas Anderson ever made Boogie
Nights for the sole purpose of making money. Anderson has always been a
filmmaker who prioritises quality over quantity, all of his films are deeply
stylised, personal, and distinctive, when he makes a film, people start taking
notice. Boogie Nights has the sense of action and vibrance of Scorsese
classics like Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1996) a ‘lively’
feeling to every scene in the movie that leaves you effortlessly absorbed in
the drama. It’s clear that Paul Thomas Anderson enjoys the elegance of cinema, from
the camera’s slow build-ups, along with the perfectly layered soundtrack, This
a ‘Master’ filmmaker at work.
It’s hard to deny that Boogie Nights is also a very sexy
film, but not in the normal sense. Anderson doesn’t glorify the use of drugs or
the artificial nature of porn. Instead, he displays everything in plain sight.
Porn is not real, it’s not how real people act, and Boogie Nights is the
embodiment of this truth. It’s sexy in the way that it represents people being
alive, being young, and being in love with the notion of being free. Boogie
Nights was the real breakout film for Paul Thomas Anderson, his next film
was further proof of his quality.
Magnolia (1999)
After the critical success of Boogie Nights, Anderson
replied with the grand spectacle that was Magnolia. A 3-hour long masterpiece
of several intertwining stories surrounding a diverse group of individuals all
in search of love, reconciliation, and everything in between. Similarly, with Boogie
Nights it is the strength in cast and characters that elevate Magnolia
to epic heights with stellar performances from Tom Cruise, Phillip Seymour Hoffman,
and Julianne Moore plus many more. Each of the characters have a common goal when
everything is broken down. To find a sense of meaning and satisfaction in life no
matter what they may have done right or wrong in the past. Anderson has been
praised by critics for his ambition with Magnolia, being able to tell 9
different stories in one film and still not lose sight of the overall message.
Magnolia has an overwhelming sense of allure due to its ambition and intelligence. Some characters are attached by blood, some by themes of child trauma. This trauma is found in the cases of Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) a child prodigy who rises to fame on the show ‘What do Kids Know?’ and his uncanny connection to the grown-up child genius Donnie Smith (William H. Macy). Donnie was once revered with the same praise and pressure felt by Stanley, with aggressive parents pushing them both into competing on live television only to line their pockets. Donnie is a washed-up middle-aged loser at this point of the film and when he watches Stanley on the television, he sees so much of himself in him. A child with promise, under a considerable amount of pressure that will ultimately prove to be too much to handle as Stanley transitions into adulthood.
Unlike Boogie Nights, Magnolia did perform better at the
box office, but I guess this was expected with the blockbuster addition of Tom
Cruise. Regardless of its success, it’s more proof of Paul Thomas Anderson
writing his own history in the world of cinema. A bold, post modern classic
that needs no apologies for introducing all of us to a new style of filmmaking.
Its long and deep, but Magnolia gives you a chance to leave your
inhibitions at the door and enjoy cinema in the most innocent way possible. Ingmar
Bergman stated that Magnolia was a “Strength of American Cinema” and of
course it is that, but it represents so much more. Hollywood cinema is renowned
for being a money-making machine built on sequels, cheap laughs, and beautiful
celebrities, but every once in a while, something completely authentic comes
along. That is the cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson.
All good films are accompanied by a good soundtrack, and Magnolia is no different. But the score is more than just ‘good’ it is woven into the story. At one point in the film each of the characters sing together in unison, this moment probably shouldn’t work, but it just does. Magnolia as a concept probably shouldn’t work, but it just does. These feats are only possible when your cast are willing, and your director is brave.
There Will Be Blood (2007)There Will Be Blood is in essence a rags to riches tale of an industrious man who achieves his own American dream. The only difference is that this is a man who is repugnant from the very first moment we meet him. It is no surprise that Daniel Day Lewis won the Oscar for this film, an unforgettable performance of grandeur that has the spirit of an actor at the top of his craft. I mean Daniel Plainview is a truly hateful man, a horrible person inside and out who attains a huge fortune and takes it all for himself. A charismatic tyrant who is unapologetically evil, and yet we still can’t look away.
Unlike most films where a flawed title character goes on a journey of reflection and improvement which in turn changes their outlook on life, Daniel Plainview finds no such solace. He is still the horrible, defiant oppressor that he was at the beginning of the film, and through all of his challenges he always picks himself up and starts again without self-pity. This approach by any other filmmaker would be startling, but this is Paul Thomas Anderson. He writes his own destiny.
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