48. Punch Drunk Love (w/ Sean Burke)

Published: Oct. 15, 2021, 4 a.m.

Join us on the harmonium as we revisit Paul Thomas Anderson's (not-)musical tragicomedy Punch Drunk Love with Sean Burke (Founding Partner, Whistler Partners). We discuss how Adam Sandler embodies the awkwardness and anxiety of male adolescence, and how Anderson mixes color and sound to create an overwhelming kaleidoscope of social panic, rage and repression, and fear of public humiliation. Yet, underneath it all, we find a simple and pure love story -- perhaps one of the most hopeful in recent memory -- yet one that also depicts love in all its complexity and difficulty. Where does this gem rank in your list of Paul Thomas Anderson films??