Why Do Paul Thomas Anderson Movies Demand Multiple Views?
By the end of the year, we will have Daniel Day-Lewis' final performance in film and Paul Thomas Anderson's latest piece to watch and re-watch.

True to form, Phantom Thread departs from all of Anderson's other work in period, location, and genre: Anderson's explores the milieu of high society and fashion as Day-Lewis depicts a dress designer commissioned in 1950's London.

Anderson has made a reputation of being an unclassifiable filmmaker, tackling subjects ranging from capitalism, religion, and the pornography industry. Still, his movies are recognizable. As a director, his eye for patiently mesmerizing visuals draws a stylistic cohesion, whether it's the steady-cam long-shot introduction …show more content…
He puts the anger of stock characters from Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, in a less overtly comedic framework with real consequences. At the same time the screenplay affords empathy and understanding well.

In this way, not only is every character embodied, they bring along associations that add a subconscious depth to the viewing experience. Mark Wahlberg at 22 years old wasn't a far cry from the hopeful pornography star (he had already been sexualized in the iconic Calvin Klein ad). Sandler had an array of socially awkward, insecure and anger-prone characters and Tom Cruise's career had been based on image from its outset. Each gives the viewer a more advanced starting point with the character. He avoids any feel of typecasting by thoroughly exploring the character's psychology.

Critics often cite casting as a major strength of the finished product. "I particularly want to praise the casting of this film in big roles and small," Siskel commented in his review of Boogie Nights. "Every role of the large cast is perfectly …show more content…
Punch-Drunk Love is a movie with sparse meaning until you look closer at the symbols that matter to Barry and show his progression.

From the beginning of the movie, the phone is Barry's primary method of communication. As we watch him talk on the phone and converse in life, we see he is much more comfortable on the phone. He can lie easier to stay in and avoid being around his overbearing sisters and their imposing expectations of him. They gossip and actively mock him. He does not take it well, one time shattering a sliding door and another time threatening to kill his sister.

He can't trust them to be confidential at all. It's why Barry makes such a big deal about confidentiality when he calls the phone sex line. His motivation is simply to have human contact because he is so lonely (he tells the woman it doesn't matter what she looks like.) But after she directs him to more sexual ends, they use it to blackmail him. Now, Barry is on the receiving end of the phone's duplicitous