I was not a fan of Punch-Drunk Love when I watched it years ago. I found the acting very stiff and story pointless. Hoping to watch Don Jon this week in my Netflix Movie Club, I was disappointed when it was chosen (by random). To my surprise I found it very enjoyable on my second viewing, partially because I now appreciate natural dialogue and quirky humor that doesn't rely on silliness.
Punch-Drunk Love, released in 2002, was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is a romantic black comedy, nothing like his other movies There Will Be Blood, a more serious film, and Magnolia, which is supernatural and perplexing. It stars Adam Sandler, Emily Watson and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Adam Sandler plays an awkward, rigid small business man named Barry Egan who experiences fits of rage and sadness, the former caused by his overbearing sisters who speak badly of him to his face, to themselves and to others.
I doubted on my first viewing Sandler would be successful going outside his typecasting, having enjoyed his films Big Daddy, The Waterboy, and Mr. Deeds. Then I saw it as a failure, where as now I see it as an accomplished usage of his skill playing a social outcast trying to do the right thing minus the antics. Barry speaks strangely with lines such as “Good to see your face again”, “Business is very food”, and “I don't freak out, no matter what my sisters say”. He makes gagging noises as he runs, handles objects in orthodox ways and hides when people approach him. His solitude and anxiety is felt in quiet, still scenes of wide angle shots with people in the far background become uneasy by the sound of drums and rattling when someone or something closes in.
His romantic interest Lena Leonard, played by Emily Watson, is introduced to him by one of his seven sisters, the only one who shows interest in his well being. Unbeknownst to her, Lena is a little weird herself, which becomes clear near the end of the film when she speaks grotesquely in what should have been a loving scene. That interaction solidified them as a couple, not just two people rushing into a relationship, a common issue in romantic movies. She doesn't seem to notice or care about Barry's stilted behavior, satisfied with his short responses and forgiving of his lies and mistakes. It is not the best romantic story I've seen and really serves as a subplot.
The meat of the film is how Barry's need for companionship leads him down a path of harassment. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the foul mouth mattress store owner Dean Trumbell, who for a side business tricks vulnerable men to provide personal information to extract money. When Barry realizes he has fallen into a trap he desperately ignores the problem only to be intimidated by Dean's thugs. After fleeing from home he returns to deal with the henchmen and Dean concluding in an anti-climactic, funny encounter settled by respect and passion. Unfortunately it was soured by Barry claiming “love makes me stronger than anything you can imagine”. Puh-lease Paul Anderson.
It is a small blemish on an otherwise superb film. How Barry's life changes over the course of sweet and outlandish events was fun and satisfying. Such change cannot be pointless as I thought previously. I like the imperfect dialogue because it represents what people actually say instead of what people wish they had said. It's not laugh out loud comedy, but dark comedies rarely are. Anderson's choice of colors, with plain locations and psychedelic transition sequences, complimented the utilization light, which did not serve to enhance the message of good and bad or right and wrong. They worked together best in two picturesque scenes that had characters silhouettes on brightly colored backgrounds. These elements make Punch-Drunk Love worth seeing.
