Review of Punch-Drunk Love (2002) by Marc R — 26 Jun 2015

81%.

Saw this on 27/6/15.

Punch-drunk love and Magnolia shows convincing proof that Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't know how to end a film (though the endings of There will be Blood and Boogie Night are awesome). The latter tread into an illogical conclusion and though the former is an hour and half short than Magnolia, both films have same treatment. Punch Drunk Love builds up unbelievable pace for a romantic movie till it's first three quarters (just like magnolia) only to end up in a disappointingly laid back and understated manner. The love story is spot on, so is Mr Anderson's direction. The music work and cinematography are unbelievable and they add a lot of pleasure into the film. Adam Sandler gives us one of the best performances in his career and the role is clearly etched out for him. PT Anderson's style of making the visuals and the feel of the movie just like a Hitchcock romance movie is also commendable. The romantic leads are spot on and well matched. The biggest dud here is the second story that has Philip Seymour Hoffman. It starts out too well adding much mystery and punch and even Mr Sandler's action sequences are great. However, in the film just becomes entirely disappointing by ending that part of the story in a most unoriginal manner.