♥♥♥♥♥
+ Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Mark Wahlberg
A wealth of characters and situations are crammed into a colorful star on this fine poster for Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights |
Dirk Diggler is a young man in 1970s America with a heavy quality between his legs that makes him spiral to stardom in Los Angeles' blooming porn industry. But success comes with at a prize.
Mark Wahlberg (Three Kings (1999)) has one of his career's best parts here and gives a splendid performance in his breakthrough role as donkey dick with limited brains, Dirk Diggler/Eddie Adams (based on real-life porn legend John Holmes). The rest of the cast is so star-studded that you just have to keep watching, especially as many of them deliver outstanding supporting performances:
Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda (2004)) is priceless; and so is Burt Reynolds (Deliverance (1972)) as a porn director. Julianne Moore (The Hours (2002)) is heartbreaking as a porn actress who is also a neglectful mother; and finally Heather Graham (From Hell (2001)) is sugar-sweet as Rollergirl.
Philip Baker Hall (Hard Eight), John C. Reilly (Step Brothers (2008)), William H. Macy (The Sessions (2012)), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote (2005)), Thomas Jane (The Mist (2007)) and Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)) also have enjoyable minor parts.
Photography-wise, Boogie Nights is a study in long, complicated travelings and hard contrast cuts. Fine work by cinematographer Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood (2007)).
Boogie Nights is a decadent, sexy, incredibly cast, eclectic film. A tour de force in cinematic skill and great period music. It booms with great scenes and wonderful performances, though it is arguably overlong.
Related posts:
Paul Thomas Anderson: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Phantom Thread (2017) - Anderson's exquisite drama of an English dressmaker and his Alma
The Master (2012) - Anderson's stunning post-war reflection
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - Sandler breaks out of his routine in Anderson's delightful romcom
1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Boogie Nights (1997) - Anderson's irresistible porn 'Casino'
1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama
Cost: 15 mil. $
Box office: 43.1 mil. $
= Box office success (returned 2.88 times its cost)
No comments:
Post a Comment