Punch-Drunk Love

As with "AI", this is another film that splits mainstream audiences down the center.

When I first saw this movie, written and directed by P.T. Anderson (of "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia"), I wasn't sure what to do with it. I was intruiged by some of the subtle bits of comedy, but it's short running time caught me off guard. Both of Anderson's previous films were about three hours, but this one is almost half that.

I saw it again on DVD, and was surprised by how much sweeter and funnier the movie was. I was won over by the chemistry of Adam Sandler and the beautiful Emily Watson. I was also shocked at the amount of emotion in Sandler's facial expressions.

The cinematography, editing, costume design, and musical score all combine to create a very colorful and wacky... it seems sort of like a parallel universe.

Give me your thoughts. Now.

I found myself staring at the wall rather than at the movie screen. It was a much more interesting way to spend those 90 minutes.

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B86: you chose another button-pusher.

I love this movie, and even own the DVD. And I am not otherwise an Adam Sandler fan. The film has a strange almost poetic, surreal feel (the piano!), while remaining grounded in prosaic, mundane (and at times, ugly) realities of contemporary life. The romance is written with a kind of stark economy -- you either buy into it, early on, or you are left in the dark. Sandler is borderline creepy throughout -- no fake "redemptive" moment -- which makes him endearing, oddly enough. (Though when he says he has "a love"in his life, it's very moving and satisfying--if you've gone on this journey willingly.) Like MAGNOLIA, the movie burrows deep inside marginalized people and asks you to invest, and care. I do, every time I watch it.

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this was easily one of the strangest movies i have EVER seen. and the monotonous noises for the entire movie make me want to kill myself right there. i couldn't TAKE them anymore!

I loved this movie. All the ways they played with light, the color montages between scenes, all of it was just beautiful. It was believable, too. These two royally screwed up individuals probably would go for each other in real life.

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