片单｜Paul Thomas Anderson: Evolution of a Master
Programmed by tiff 2021 (https://www.tiff.net/calendar?series=pta&list)
70mm Print!
A high-fashion dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) with no patience for distraction finds himself in a personal and professional dilemma when he meets an alluring woman (Vicky Krieps) who disrupts his carefully crafted lifestyle, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s most recent acclaimed feature.
Content advisory: coarse language
35mm Print!
Boogie Nights, which had its world premiere at TIFF in 1997, established Paul Thomas Anderson as one of the most important filmmakers of his generation. Boasting a widely-praised soundtrack and the holy grail of American indie casts (Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, and Heather Graham, with Burt Reynolds, who oozes sleazy charm, thrown in for some genuine 1970s glamour), the film gave ex-rapper Wahlberg’s acting career serious credibility — though Wahlberg would infamously denounce the film decades later. The setting is the porn industry of the late ’70s, just before video and cocaine would effectively destroy the industry for its stars — but Boogie Nights’ real subject is what happened when the revolutionary politics of the 1960s and ’70s morphed into pure hedonism, mixed with greed and absurdly conspicuous consumption. With the brilliantly choreographed club and party set pieces and the way Anderson deftly allows us to see the characters’ flaws (they’re greedy, egotistical, and most of them are not very bright) while feeling real compassion for them, Anderson’s gifts as a filmmaker are evident in virtually every scene.
Content advisory: sexually suggestive scenes, violence
35mm Print!
Proclaimed by director Paul Thomas Anderson as his favourite film he’s made, The Master centres on Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a troubled World War II vet with a talent for making moonshine and a penchant for getting into fights. After a drunken escapade lands him aboard a stranger’s yacht, he meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the dogmatic leader of a religious movement called The Cause, who quickly takes a shine to both Freddie’s bootleg and his psychological peculiarities. Dodd believes his teachings can help Freddie, and invites him into the movement’s inner circle — but Dodd’s iron-willed wife Peggy (Amy Adams) and other members of The Cause soon grow fearful of Freddie’s volatility. Richly shot on 65mm, Anderson’s probing drama is neither an indictment of religion nor a paean to it. Instead, the film asks us to consider whether we can ever really be our own master.
CLAIRE CHRISTOPHER
Content advisory: sexually suggestive scenes, coarse language
35mm Print!
In David Lean’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Passionate Friends, Lean returns to familiar territory previously explored in films like Brief Encounter with an intimate tale of infidelity and of lost love reignited. Waiting for the arrival of her husband, Howard (Claude Rains in a razor-sharp performance), to join her on holiday in the Swiss Alps, Mary (Ann Todd) discovers that her former flame Steven (Trevor Howard) is staying in the adjoining suite — rekindling an affair first begun many years ago, and subsequently rupturing the security and autonomy Mary chose over love when she initially ended things with Steven. Todd, whose icy blond beauty and onscreen restraint had earned her the moniker of “pocket Garbo,” was courted by the director during production; the pair were said to have run off on romantic getaways themselves while filming, and married after production had wrapped. A hidden gem from the filmography of a director who may be best remembered for later achievements like The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, The Passionate Friends remains an enduring influence to filmmakers working today, and Paul Thomas Anderson cites it as a critical antecedent to his own haunting love story, Phantom Thread.
AMANDA BRASON
Content advisory: depiction of suicidal ideation
