Punch Drunk Love (2002)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

This was a film that most either loved or hated – I’d read various reviews which really tear it apart. Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s previous work was the critically acclaimed ‘Boogie Nights’. He then made the more divisive ‘Magnolia‘, leaving people unsure what to expect. Then came ‘Punch Drunk Love’, with Adam Sandler as the dramatic lead. The film’s momentum is dead-on, and from the opening scene I was absolutely hooked. Sandler is excellent, as are all the performances in the film, including Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s excellent Mattress Man. For me, it’s a traditional love story, but imagine a traditional love story where the main man is a anxiety-ridden, emotionally damaged dude at the end of his rope. That’s the film.