Saturday, January 5, 2008
This is a hard one to talk about... I know I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure how much.
It is completely different than everything else Paul Thomas Anderson has done, and it's not recognizable as his work. It's big in scope, but keeps a tighter cast of characters, isn't too eager to get chatty and is mysterious.
Well, I feel like I need to see this one again before I can make up my mind over it, but I'm also not sure I want to do that right away. Maybe give it some time.
My main thing is... it's a long movie, and for the first 2 hours or so, I didn't feel much. It was always interesting, and well-shot, well-acted, etc, but the material didn't stir up any emotions or passion or anything like that. But then, I have to say, everything wraps up really well in the last 40 minutes or so. So, I know all the earlier stuff is there for a good reason, because it's all important build-up for the finale. The question is... will seeing it again enrich the first 2 hours, or make me enjoy them more? Or will it remain a well-made but sterile extended prologue to a really strong pay-off?
Usually I like to rate every movie I see on Netflix, but I haven't been able to give this one a solid rating. Somewhere between 3 and 5. Does that make it a 4?
3 comments:
Warning: "some blood at end".
it was a pretty darn good payoff, i have to agree.
I made the huge mistake of seeing this with a large group of people after a few drinks. I was cheering "Ameeeeee-rica! Fuck Yeah!" every time "Big Business" one-upped "Religion".
Much like he perfectly captured "the anxiety attack" in Punch Drunk, I think he perfectly captured the "gaping lack of objective morality anywhere ever" in this one...
How much did "I'll cut your throat!" and "You're the afterbirth..." just sting you?
Only a 4, though?
I don't know if it gets the 5... I'd have to see it again. My feeling is that it's got an interesting but emotionally uninvolving bulk, but a great payoff. The payoff does make what preceded it seem better in retrospect... but will it involve me more if I watch it again? That's the key.
Post a Comment