V... SUMMARY

With Punch-Drunk Love, Paul Thomas Anderson moves into the class of the greatest filmmakers, and probably under the category of what is considered the Auteur filmmaker. The Auteur theory was first raised by the famous French film theorist André Bazin. The Auteur (or author) theory of filmmaking has been interpreted and misinterpreted many different ways and I honestly don't fully understand it's most complex or definitive meaning. However, though I may agree with much of Bazin's theory, and as presented in Part's 1-4 Anderson would very much fit in the category, I must say there is one flaw to it. It's also something I regret not mentioning enough in the previous parts: that while Punch-Drunk Love is very much a Paul Thomas Anderson Picture, it is also a collaborated effort in which everyone involved should be proud of. Adam Sandler and Emily Watson give flawless performances as Barry Egan and Lena Leonard and along with an outstanding Supporting Cast (including Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Luis Guzman), a brilliant Musical Composer (Jon Brion), Cinematographer (Robert Elswit) Production Designer (William Arnold), Costume Designer (Mark Bridges), and Producers (Daniel Lupi and Joanne Sellar), they perfectly capture the vision, emotion, and expression of the film. It is truly a collective masterpiece.

Punch-Drunk Love is an assault on every emotional level and it takes filmmaking to another level of language and art. Using music, sounds, colors, and visuals as a form of expression and cinematic narrative, Punch-Drunk Love is a film that is revolutionary, beautiful, and entertaining all at once. It uses film inspirations and influences (both direct and indirect) such as Jacques Tati, Buster Keaton, Stanley Kubrick, Jean-Luc Godard, Vincente Minnelli, yet is like nothing else ever made and further proves the endless beauty of filmmaking as art. It is also a film which displays the power and joy of finding and falling in love. Simply put, Punch-Drunk Love is one of the loveliest films ever made. It challenges everything you expect of a film and it's characters and begs repeat viewings. As a source of entertainment Punch-Drunk Love is marvelous, and as a work artistic expression it is mind-blowing and one of the greatest films ever made.

Maybe it will take longer then six to eight weeks to redeem the mileage of Punch-Drunk Love's endless artistic expression, but hopefully this masterpiece will eventually be appreciated for what it truly is: one of the very greatest achievements in the history of American cinema... That's That!

Directed and Written by
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON

Cast
Barry Egan… ADAM SANDLER
Lena Leonard… EMILY WATSON
Dean Trumbell… PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
Lance… LUIS GUZMAN
Barry's Sisters… MARY LYNN RAJSKUB
                      LISA SPECTOR
                      JULIE HERMELIN
                      KAREN HERMELIN
                      HAZEL MAILLOUX
                      NICOLE GELBARD
                      MIA WEINBERG
Blonde Brothers… DAVID STEVENS
                        JIMMY STEVENS
                        NATHAN STEVENS
                        MIKE D. STEVENS
Phone Sex Sister… ASHLEY CLARK
Walter the Dentist… ROBERT SMIGEL

Original Music by
JON BRION

Artwork by
JEREMY BLAKE

Cinematography by
ROBERT ELSWIT

Production Design by
WILLIAM ARNOLD

Costume Design by
MARK BRIDGES

Art Direction by
SUE CHAN

Film Editing by
LESLIE JONES

Set Direction by
JAY HART
LORI A. NOYES

Casting by
CASSANDRA KULUKUNDIS

Produced by
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
DANIEL LUPI
JOANNE SELLAR

THE END