Paul Thoms Anderson is arguably the only director of his generation who has not made a bad movie–yet.
To be sure, not all of his nine features are equally impressive from an artistic standpoint–some are naturally better, more coherent, more fully realized than others.
Please find below our evaluation of his nine features, rank ordered.
Nine Films Ranked (Weakest to Strongest)
9. Hard Eight
8. Punch Drunk Love
7. Inherent Vice
6. Phantom Thread
5. Licorice Pizza
4. The Master
3. Magnolia
2. There Will Be Blood
1. Boogie Nights
6. Phantom Thread (2017)
Day-Lewis doesn’t act often–half a decade after “Lincoln” and precipitating his retirement, he reunited with Anderson for this portrait of a singularly obsessive fashion designer.
The film is as fastidious as its subject at times, resulting in a kind of elegant austerity.
Yet there’s irreverent humor that pokes wicked fun at its complex and weirdly self-destructive protagonist. A
Anderson has cited haute-couture figure Cristóbal Balenciaga as inspiration, though Olivier Meyrou’s Yves Saint Laurent docu, “Celebration” might have influenced the meticulously reproduced details in this film.
Set in 1973 and named for a beloved SoCal record chain, Licorice Pizza brings writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson back to the neighborhoods where he grew up — back to the disco-colored Wonderland where “Boogie Nights” took place and the decade when the indie director was born.
Once again, he finds colorful characters in the Los Angeles’ suburbs.
Licorice Pizza is an Anderson movie that lacks a father figure–the director’s own was an Ohio TV host who became the voice of ABC once he relocated to California.
Fathers (or parental proxies) have played important role in every one of his movies till now.
Anderson elevates prodigal sons and monster patriarchs to mythic status, whether it’s a naive porn performer like Dirk Diggler (“Boogie Nights”) or a self-made oil tycoon such as Daniel Plainview (“There Will Be Blood”). He then surrounds them with biological and/or surrogate families.
Altman’s influence can be felt in Anderson’s films, showing that no character in an ensemble is minor, no matter how brief the appearance.
Yet he has developed his own distinctive vision, and his small but rich oeuvre justifies and rewards multiple viewings.
