Paul Thomas Anderson’s Films

Thomas Anderson has been for years known for his films that are characterized with large collection casts and storylines which are interweaved as evidenced in the films “Boogie Nights” of 1997, “Magnolia” (1999). Various distinct themes are present in Anderson’s films. These include relationships which are ancestral, divine fate, love and its unanticipated nature and the present-day role of the media (Hofler, 2009). To be elaborative, in his films, violence and emotional rawness seem to have a common ground, which seems to be an occurrence that is strange.

As is the case in “Magnolia” the strangeness of things, though appearing to be unrealistic, has been depicted by the coincided occurrence of three deaths. This exemplifies the divinity of fate. The emphasis that Anderson puts in the interconnections existing among the different characters is of the volatility of the circumstances that have measurable effects on the characters’ lives, which is fragile. In the “Punch-Drunk Love “, the state of the character of Barry is an expression of physical and emotional isolation. Moreover, this character is, more often than not, embodied via exceptional emotional and visual narrative.

Barry’s isolation in an environment of space depicts loneliness. Self doubt and emotional insecurity are also presented in this film through the sufferings that Barry’s seven sisters are going through, which rag him. His emotions later build on Lena’s arrival and this strengthens his inner-confidence. This love redeems him from insecurity and self-doubt (Anderson, 2008). In almost all his films, Anderson combines devices for the film continuity such as music and other secular and spatial stylistic devices, montage and disposition of characters to unify the flow of the film especially towards its climax.

In his films, Anderson employs long takes that are based on steady cameras accompanied by grandiloquent bring-into-play of sound and music. These long plotlines are also overlapping. Additionally, he employs the low-life squalid settings, symbolism, colors and the brusque tempo techniques. As earlier highlighted, these stylistic devices have been employed in the “Punch-Drunk Love Movie” to exemplify Barry’s isolation and loneliness. The harmonium, although having varied interpretations, highly symbolizes love. It suffers tears on Barry’s realization of a trouble with the phone sex operation.

Another symbolism in this film is the long haul truck. Long in the sense that it is eighteen-wheeled, this truck symbolizes Barry and Lena’s endless travelling. The different colors have played it well in emotionally connecting the visual expressions of his films (Mottram, 2006). The bright colors work hand in hand with the expressionistic artwork in the films. The colors that Anderson has mostly used are the primary colors, i. e. red, blue, glowing yellow and also white. Besides, the artwork of these colors in the flow and mood of the films’ narratives, have worked perfectly.

Furthermore, talking of the artwork, it is magnificently breathtaking. The cinematic narratives have been stretched in line with their visual expressions. This has been done with the accompaniment of music. The music plays a vital role in bringing into realization emotional and expressional aspects of his films. For instance, music is played in the various conventions of the cinematic language, in the boundaries of the films that are stretched and overtop dialogues. Anderson has also used music to capture the various themes in his films.

In addition, it is employed in characterization (Berra, 2010). On the other hand, he uses sounds for both psychological and emotional expressions among the characters. References Anderson, P. (2008). Boogie Nights. New York: Faber and Faber Berra, J. (2010). Directory of World Cinema: American Independent. New York: Intellect Books Hofler, R. (2009). Variety’s “the Movie that Changed My Life”: 120 Celebrities Pick the Films that made a Difference. London: Da Capo Press Mottram, J. (2006). The Sundance Kids: How the Mavericks Took Back Hollywood. New York: Macmillan

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