Kirstiecat | Blog

I’ve seen Punch Drunk Love four times now, first in the theater when it came out then a couple of times after I bought the dvd. Last night, my friend Michelle came over for dinner and she watched it with us. Having a projector now, I was able to see so much more just in the background and artistically that I didn’t catch the first time and that I certainly wasn’t going to catch on our previous super small tv screen.

I just wanted to point out a few things of this film which, although I feel is second to Magnolia, is still a real work of genius for PT Anderson. Adam Sandler delivers a brilliant performance of a man who you aren’t quite sure has Asperger’s Disorder or is just really lonely and emotional because of life in general. Emily Watson, although she deserved more lines, brings some small elements of wonder at the power of a woman’s understanding and sensitivity. (Perhaps Emily Watson’s best role was in Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves). As in the case of Magnolia, the music really serves to heighten the feel of the characters and what is happening in the storyline. In Punch Drunk Love, however, there is no Aimee Mann and Jon Brion seems to take an even greater auditory role making many scenes much more acute.

Here are some things I noticed the fourth time around that I love (some I had already noticed before but felt their effects more deeply):

Note: this is chronological so later points may contain more spoilers.

1. When Adam Sandler/Barry first meets Emily Watson, she is almost completely submerged in sunlight. Even though it is at first a seemingly casual conversation, you see her representing something of light and hope and possibly grace early on. It’s an interesting cinematic device which might be just dismissed by some as shoddy camera work but I think it was probably very calculated.

2. The hopelessness of Adam Sandler/Barry calling the phone line to talk to a girl. He doesn’t want to pay to talk to the girl about sex but because he is desperately lonely. That, combined with the fact that Barry really wants to trust someone who is not trustworthy makes you really feel for him.

3.When Barry decides he is going to try to go to Hawaii to see Emily Watson there and he buys every frequent flyer offer of health choice chocolate pudding, he starts dancing impromptu in the supermarket. There’s a certain sudden sense of nervous hope conveyed here that is just brilliant.

4.After Barry steals the harmonium from the street, there are times he gets so anxious, he needs to play it even if it is just one note held down. Desperation then relief.

5.I noticed more of the blue lines of light that appear on the screen and add a sense of visual saturation and emotion.

6. When Barry goes out with Emily Watson for the first time and he leaves her apartment, I love how she has the door attendant stop him with her call on the way out. “I really wanted to kiss you back there” she tells him honestly and he gets lost in the madness of wanting to kiss her and trying to find her place again.

7.Barry writes the word LOVE on his hand. Perhaps, this was meant to demonstrate almost the childlike affection overtaking him but I couldn’t help thinking about Night of the Hunter when the evil protagonist writes LOVE on each knuckle of one hand and HATE on the other. Barry has only LOVE and not hate and in that way, he is the complete opposite of the other protagonist and is almost innocent in his love.

8. When Barry runs away from the blond Utah brothers for the first time after they force him to take out and give them money, it’s almost a nod to Hitchcock as we see Adam Sandler running away-it really recalls almost a North by Northwest sensibility to it all of a sudden even though he isn’t in a cornfield or anything.

9.As Barry walks down the plane runway to board for Hawaii, the speed is slowed down a bit and we see him walking into the white light. Even though Emily Watson isn’t present in this scene, it’s hard to not think of him walking into her grace and presence.

10. Barry in Hawaii desperately wants to meet up with Emily and decides to call his sister and tell her a transparent lie to obtain Emily’s hotel name and number. His sister calls him out on his lie and he says to her with such pain, “You’re killing me with the way you are towards me.”

11. Barry finally meets Emily in Hawaii and all of a sudden they are silhouettes and everyone around them passing by in such a hurry are also these beautiful silhouttes.

12. When Barry and Emily walk down the hotel hall towards her room, the cinematographer zooms in on their held hands and we sense that is all Barry feels more than anything else in the world at that moment.

13. When Barry travels from LA to Utah’s Mattress Man store, he holds the phone he had just used to call the Mattress Man the entire way and enters the store with it.

14. The shot and the feeling of the way it is framed when Barry steps into Mattress Man. We almost sense a postmodern urban western wasteland.

15. Last but not least, I always thought that it was too unbelievable before but realizing the surreality of the whole film, I now love how Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s character drops the issue with Barry/Adam Sandler and does not make a move to hurt him after their confrontation. The epitome of this confrontation, of course is when Adam Sandler looks at him and says:

“I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine. I would say that’s that Mattress Man.”

Perfect.

(now playing Pop à Paris vol1)

This entry was posted on Monday, February 27th, 2006 at 5:56 pm and is filed under films. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.