Punch-Drunk Love
Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson
USA, 2002, English, 95mins, DCP
Cast: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman
After two sprawling ensemble dramas (Boogie Nights, Magnolia), Anderson returns to the intimate scale of his debut with a self-described ‘art-house Adam Sandler movie.’ Sandler plays Barry, a timid small business owner with anger management issues who finds himself extorted by a phone sex operator. Bullied by family and strangers alike, he only gains courage and strength when miraculously finds love. More an unclassifiable vehicle for its star than a conventional rom-com, Punch-Drunk Love invites comparisons with Anderson’s later romances, while featuring widescreen cinematography that finds unexpected poetry in suburban America.
Cannes Film Festival: Best Director
7/1 (Sat): Film talk with Wong Chun
EMP Cinemas iSQUARE (Venue)
EMP Cinemas Times Square (Venue)
Chinese Subtitles
Post-screening talk
