Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Running Time: 95 minutes
Genre: Romantic comedy
Los Angeles: Barry Egan (Sandler) is a lonely entrepreneur who owns a company which sells toilet plungers and other, similar novelty items. He suffers from severe social awkwardness which is exacerbated by his seven sisters who ridicule and humiliate him constantly. To make matters worse, he is given to bursts of violence when he is really upset or stressed. Barry also collects large quantities of puddings for a frequent flier air miles promotion.
After meeting and falling for shy Lena Leonard (Watson), Barry has a new purpose to life, but things become complicated when the operator of a phone sex line he called tries to extort money from him.
This strange film is a very offbeat romantic comedy. Although it adheres to the general boy meets girl formula, in terms of approach it is very different. Adam Sandler contributes a striking performance, toning down his usual comic persona, and making it somehow darker, closer to the more realistic "cringe comedy" of someone like Ricky Gervais, but making his sudden bursts of violence even more disturbing. Emily Watson's character is more if an enigma, which nevertheless hints at hidden depths. The world of Punch-Drunk Love is a deeply strange one. In each of Paul Thomas Anderson's carefully composed shots there is the hint of things happening in the background. The whole thing has a dreamlike feel to it with love the thing that provides hope in a nightmare world.
Incidentally, any Murderinos may recognise the voice of Karen Kilgariff as one of Barry's sisters.
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