Review of Boogie Nights (1997) by Brian R — 17 Oct 2012

This is a great film. I see "Boogie Nights" as Paul Thomas Anderson porn version of "Nashville". There is a lot of major characters in this, we get a real glimpse in the world of the adult industry during the late 70's early 80's, it's heartbraking and humourous, the film has wicked camera styles and editing styles, very authentic 70's vibe/decor, and the music is great too.

I think the best performance goes to Burt Reynolds but others say goes to Julianne Moore who tries so hard to achieve what she's lost...Being a devoted mother but lost it all to hard drugs, a bad criminal record, and getting into pornography. It was also haunting to see Moore's character taking Eddie aka Dirk Diggler (Mark Whalberg) under her wings and getting him into cocaine. There is another great scene Floyd Gondolli (Philip Baker Hall), insists on cutting costs by shooting on videotape, a format that Jack (Reynolds) is cynical about. He is also unhappy with the lack of scripts and character development in the projects Gondolli expects him to churn out as quickly as possible.

Personally, I think this is one of PTA's best films and he would go on a major streak as a real player with future films "Magnolia" and "There Will Be Blood".