Old_Abe
Iscritto in data giu 1999
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Valutazione di Old_Abe
Okay, straight out, I'm a moviegoer. I'm not some disciple of P.T. Anderson (the director) or of Adam Sandler, and I'm not someone who'll enjoy a movie just because it is different or quirky or has some intention toward being art (also see: "a film").
Some others here have wondered how anyone could enjoy this movie, and they guess that the above reasons MUST apply to the people who find merit in this thing. So let me explain my own positive reaction.
PUNCH DRUNK LOVE deals with anxiety, alienation, and repressed anger: emotions not delved into much in movies. It has a main character I connected with. It effectively portrays his personal outlook on the world with an unusual and subtle use of sound and direction. While not everything about it worked for me, for these reasons I found it very worthwhile and easily the best choice for me at the multiplex.
People expecting a traditionally-styled romantic comedy will likely be disappointed. People expecting a goofy Sandler comedy will likely be disappointed. People expecting a strictly realistic story, told in straightforward way, will likely feel the same.
Okay, so who the heck does that leave as a possible audience? Mainly people who are open to a portrait -- a realistic portrait, but with dream-like elements -- of a person dealing with anxiety, alienation, and repressed anger. Your basic audience for TAXI DRIVER, maybe? Even some of this remaining, relatively small audience may dismiss the movie as pretentious crap, driven to annoyance by a soundtrack they find intrusive, or by directing they find to be self-conscious, or something. Not me.
For me, as a study of this guy, the movie really works. It portrays things and feelings that I found myself recognizing and connecting with: The disjointed sounds of thoughts working in the background of your concentration. The feeling of a total lack of control, that something is very wrong but you can't quite put your finger on it. The anxiety about being around other people that gets a choke hold on you, triggered by something within yourself you don't understand. Then there's the social anxiety with totally evident outside reasons - that some people out there ARE predatory and will be careless or worse with you. The feeling of a vague threat, lurking on the outsides of your awareness, a dark rim around the edges of life. The guy's (over?)attention to little details, such as the bar codes on food containers or the intricacies of some scheme that he's cooked up in his head -- little strings of ideas he protects and attends to, maybe because they are in one of his few corners of control and of privacy and dignity. The built-up rage that suddenly bursts forth, seemingly out of nothing.
This description breaks the character down into some of his qualities or tendencies, but up on the screen he's vividly and humanly presented by Adam Sandler. Watching him stirred thoughts and feelings inside me, about myself and about my own reality. For one thing, the connection with the character made me feel less alone in having some of these kind of feelings, frankly. How often does a movie do that?
You may ask why you would want to spend 90 minutes or more watching such a person. If it does sound to you that you'd feel that way, hey, you have now been forewarned. (Send your eight bucks to me, instead...)
One valid criticism of the movie is questioning the "love" part of it. You may find the young woman's character underdeveloped, and feel that you have not been shown enough of her to understand what she sees in this guy, or what her outlook is in general: It's really a portrait of his character rather than a balanced love story. You may also question the foundation of their relationship, whether they've really got something that you would call love and that will grow further. But this is not so much a criticism as a legitimate question we are left with.
Anyway. Good character study with some effective, surreal storytelling. I'll probably watch it again on video.
Some others here have wondered how anyone could enjoy this movie, and they guess that the above reasons MUST apply to the people who find merit in this thing. So let me explain my own positive reaction.
PUNCH DRUNK LOVE deals with anxiety, alienation, and repressed anger: emotions not delved into much in movies. It has a main character I connected with. It effectively portrays his personal outlook on the world with an unusual and subtle use of sound and direction. While not everything about it worked for me, for these reasons I found it very worthwhile and easily the best choice for me at the multiplex.
People expecting a traditionally-styled romantic comedy will likely be disappointed. People expecting a goofy Sandler comedy will likely be disappointed. People expecting a strictly realistic story, told in straightforward way, will likely feel the same.
Okay, so who the heck does that leave as a possible audience? Mainly people who are open to a portrait -- a realistic portrait, but with dream-like elements -- of a person dealing with anxiety, alienation, and repressed anger. Your basic audience for TAXI DRIVER, maybe? Even some of this remaining, relatively small audience may dismiss the movie as pretentious crap, driven to annoyance by a soundtrack they find intrusive, or by directing they find to be self-conscious, or something. Not me.
For me, as a study of this guy, the movie really works. It portrays things and feelings that I found myself recognizing and connecting with: The disjointed sounds of thoughts working in the background of your concentration. The feeling of a total lack of control, that something is very wrong but you can't quite put your finger on it. The anxiety about being around other people that gets a choke hold on you, triggered by something within yourself you don't understand. Then there's the social anxiety with totally evident outside reasons - that some people out there ARE predatory and will be careless or worse with you. The feeling of a vague threat, lurking on the outsides of your awareness, a dark rim around the edges of life. The guy's (over?)attention to little details, such as the bar codes on food containers or the intricacies of some scheme that he's cooked up in his head -- little strings of ideas he protects and attends to, maybe because they are in one of his few corners of control and of privacy and dignity. The built-up rage that suddenly bursts forth, seemingly out of nothing.
This description breaks the character down into some of his qualities or tendencies, but up on the screen he's vividly and humanly presented by Adam Sandler. Watching him stirred thoughts and feelings inside me, about myself and about my own reality. For one thing, the connection with the character made me feel less alone in having some of these kind of feelings, frankly. How often does a movie do that?
You may ask why you would want to spend 90 minutes or more watching such a person. If it does sound to you that you'd feel that way, hey, you have now been forewarned. (Send your eight bucks to me, instead...)
One valid criticism of the movie is questioning the "love" part of it. You may find the young woman's character underdeveloped, and feel that you have not been shown enough of her to understand what she sees in this guy, or what her outlook is in general: It's really a portrait of his character rather than a balanced love story. You may also question the foundation of their relationship, whether they've really got something that you would call love and that will grow further. But this is not so much a criticism as a legitimate question we are left with.
Anyway. Good character study with some effective, surreal storytelling. I'll probably watch it again on video.
We've seen the words "director's cut" or "restored scenes" pasted on so many box covers that the labels have become suspect. Do we really benefit from seeing 5 minutes of restored footage on the latest David Spade movie? Probably not.
However GAME OF DEATH is a prime case where the original writer's vision IS in dire need of restoring. That writer -- Mr. Bruce Lee himself -- was not able to see his vision through due to his unfortunate and untimely death. So the studio took the 20-30 minutes of footage Lee had shot and pasted it to more than an hour of front story they created on their own. This front story attempts to conjure up Bruce Lee by using body doubles, shadows, old Lee film footage, and once even a cardboard cut out of the gung fu master. The results are much what you'd expect: pretty darn cheesey. (Perfect material for a "Mystery Science Theater" episode though, waiting an hour and 15 minutes for Lee to show up in his own movie.)
As another commenter points out, there is a better way. Namely, checking out the documentary BRUCE LEE: A WARRIOR'S JOURNEY, which I've seen available on DVD for the same cost as GAME OF DEATH. It's also been run on the cable station AMC; check their site for upcoming viewings.
The documentary chronicles some of Lee's rise, with his struggle to be accepted both as an innovative martial artist and then as a legitimate box-office draw in the U.S. What comes across is a man of great drive and strength, a guy who challenged old ideas of how things should be and continued to find his own way.
The later portion of the documentary recovers Lee's original notes on the GAME OF DEATH, which paint a different and more interesting story from what ended up being shot posthumously. Also recovered is more actual footage Lee had made, which the documentary weaves together using Lee's notes as a guide. The resulting mini-movie improves on the 20 minutes seen at the end of the GAME OF DEATH studio release. The fights are extended and involve more characters. So you're getting more good footage, and more of the essence of GAME OF DEATH from watching a documentary than from watching the movie itself.
All right, gotta get off my soapbox now before Karim Abdul Jabar kicks it to shreds. What a reach on that guy, huh?
However GAME OF DEATH is a prime case where the original writer's vision IS in dire need of restoring. That writer -- Mr. Bruce Lee himself -- was not able to see his vision through due to his unfortunate and untimely death. So the studio took the 20-30 minutes of footage Lee had shot and pasted it to more than an hour of front story they created on their own. This front story attempts to conjure up Bruce Lee by using body doubles, shadows, old Lee film footage, and once even a cardboard cut out of the gung fu master. The results are much what you'd expect: pretty darn cheesey. (Perfect material for a "Mystery Science Theater" episode though, waiting an hour and 15 minutes for Lee to show up in his own movie.)
As another commenter points out, there is a better way. Namely, checking out the documentary BRUCE LEE: A WARRIOR'S JOURNEY, which I've seen available on DVD for the same cost as GAME OF DEATH. It's also been run on the cable station AMC; check their site for upcoming viewings.
The documentary chronicles some of Lee's rise, with his struggle to be accepted both as an innovative martial artist and then as a legitimate box-office draw in the U.S. What comes across is a man of great drive and strength, a guy who challenged old ideas of how things should be and continued to find his own way.
The later portion of the documentary recovers Lee's original notes on the GAME OF DEATH, which paint a different and more interesting story from what ended up being shot posthumously. Also recovered is more actual footage Lee had made, which the documentary weaves together using Lee's notes as a guide. The resulting mini-movie improves on the 20 minutes seen at the end of the GAME OF DEATH studio release. The fights are extended and involve more characters. So you're getting more good footage, and more of the essence of GAME OF DEATH from watching a documentary than from watching the movie itself.
All right, gotta get off my soapbox now before Karim Abdul Jabar kicks it to shreds. What a reach on that guy, huh?