Punch Drunk Love (2002)

So we’ve spent the past couple of days discussing Sandler’s comedy work, but now it’s time to talk about his dramas.

Attention must be paid when Sandler goes over to the prestige world.

He’s great at working with auteur filmmakers like Jason Reitman, Tom McCarthy, The Safdie Brothers, and today's director, Paul Thomas Anderson.

It’s exciting to see Sandler being drawn toward more dramatic roles over the last few years. It’s really impressive to see him still retain his love for studio comedies.

It’s also always very impressive to watch him in movies like this.

Even though it’s a drama, he’s clearly pulling from his comedy background to create a more well-rounded character.

When he first began writing this film, PTA had two goals:

to make a modern musical and to make a 90-minute movie.

Did he accomplish those goals?

Well, it’s 95 minutes so we’ll give it to him.

As for it being a musical, there’s no singing or dancing, but he does write it to be a sweeping romance in the style of Roman Holiday, Singing in the Rain, and the Band Wagon.

PTA also brilliantly includes percussive music that keeps the film moving at a clip the whole time.

Ready to shift at any moment like a Bill Higgins song.

PTA had one other goal when he made Punch Drunk Love:

To figure out why he was so captivated by Sandler’s onscreen presence.

Throughout the movie, he’s constantly asking himself, “Why do we love this angry man with the silly voice so much?”

He does an amazing job of capturing the charm of Sandler though. Throughout the film, even when Barry is at his most angry, you still feel such vulnerability from him.

All you want to do is protect him from these horrible outside forces.

PTA understands that the thing that made Sandler a movie star is not his comic timing or his boyish good looks.

It was how honest he reads on screen.

The fact that his characters never seem to be happy with themselves but can’t seem to be able to internalize it.

It’s these weird extremes on both sides, the boisterous delivery with a deft touch, that conveys so many emotions under the surface.

Let’s talk about Phillip Seymour Hoffman for a second.

When watching this clip it’s easy to take what a shock his performance is for granted.

Up until this point in his career, Hoffman played meek assholes who mumble and you pity in the worst way possible.

For him in this scene to outdo Sandler in the erratic freakout department is a legendary dropping of the hammer.

Watch how they do a verbal seesaw.

Going back and forth trying to take control of the situation thus leading to total chaos and ends as loud noises drowning each other out.

Guess Tomorrow’s Film