I like Wes Anderson and PT Anderson a whole lot. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, naturally, and I don't think either has directed a bad film yet. If I had to give one the edge over the other, I think I prefer PTA. While his earlier flicks relied too heavily on using Scorsese and Altman trademarks as a crutch, everything he's made is still tremendously watchable and entertaining. He's got a one-of-a-kind eye for talent and great visual instincts.
Hard Eight is a brilliant debut. It's a flick that feeds off the performances of its principle cast and, while it doesn't stretch Paul's talents too much, it's still pretty slick. It's not as dynamic as his other stuff, but it's very effective as a straight, understated character piece.
Boogie Nights and
Magnolia are two overblown, overambitous flicks that look great, but don't amount to much in the end. I think they both have their moments and Anderson's regular stable of actors are great as per usual. And the Alfred Molina drug czar scene in
Boogie Nights with crazy Tom Jane and whatnot is one of my favorite sequences in any movie ever. But, yeah, neither
Magnolia or
Nights impresses the hell out of me.
Punch-Drunk Love, meanwhile, impresses the ever loving crap out of me. Every review I've read of that thing described the film as the one where Anderson finally broke free of the shadows of his heroes and made a unique and excellent film in its own right. I don't necessarily agree with that, as
Punch-Drunk Love still owes a whole heckuva lot to the collective works of Robert Altman. I love it anyways, though. The innovative use of sound, the simple yet elegant color motifs, the beyond-perfect central romance, the Barry Egan character itself and on and on and on.
Punch-Drunk Love is my favorite of his and it's not even that close.
There Will Be Blood is a great film and personally, I think that is the only film PTA has made that completely escapes his past influences. It's a great piece of art, but it does lose a little of its luster when you consider that its pretty standard fare if not for Johnny Greenwood's magnificent score and Daniel Day Lewis' scenery gnawing performance. Beautifully shot standard fare, but standard fare nonetheless. So, yeah, to one degree or another, all these films are good. Here's how I'd grade PTA's filmography so far...
Hard Eight, A
Boogie Nights, C+
Magnolia, C+
Punch-Drunk Love, A+
There Will Be Blood, A
Wes Anderson is way cool, too. Linespalsy mentioned it somewhere else on the site, and I agree, that the best thing Wes has going for him is his innate ability to brand all his stuff with his own unique print. He has a knack for creating worlds in which only his characters could inhabit. This is evident in everything he's done. Language and dialogue and songs that could only work in his films. He sets a tone and when you watch a Wes Anderson film, you know you're watching a Wes Anderson film. This can be seen as a weakness, too, as he does seem to be a bit limited in what he can do. He's confined himself to his own set of parameters and who knows if he could make a film that's all that much of a departure from any of his others. And how on earth would his fans react if he tried to mix it up a little? He has kinda trapped himself here, in that while it's nice he's got his own style, all of his stuff is so similar, they seem to blend together and repeat upon themselves. This could get old, but I don't think his voice or language has gotten stale yet.
Bottle Rocket reminds me of
Hard Eight, for some reason, and I like it a lot. I've seen it a bunch of times and the two faux-heists are a hoot and a half. Plus, Dignan is a great character. Wes' writing partner, Owen Wilson, has done his best work in Anderson films. Eli from
The Royal Tenebaums and especially Dignan from
Bottle Rocket are both just hilariously inventive characters and he wrote them for himself.
Rushmore is a good movie; critical darling and whatnot. It never really clicked with me like it seems to have done for others, but Bill Murray was fantastic and I am in love with Miss Cross.
Tenenbaums is fun, but it's another one I don't have particularly strong feelings about.
The Life Aquatic, though, is perfect in my eyes. Bill Murray's even better than he was in
Rushmore and the film works great as everything from a clever parody of action popcorners to an ode to the music of David Bowie. And
The Darjeeling Limited? I've only seen it once and I liked it. It's got a great soundtrack, three wonderful lead performances and a few dynamite moments. But it's not one of my favorites. It dragged in spots and it's a pretty big red flag for me that, despite what his fans may think, Wes may need to shake things up a bit in his next few flicks. Likewise with PTA, though, every Wes Anderson movie so far is still very good. Here's how I'd grade 'em...
Bottle Rocket, A
Rushmore, B-
The Royal Tenenbaums, B
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, A+
The Darjeeling Limited, B-
So, to sum it all up, both directors are great in their own special way.
Paul (not Thomas) Anderson, meanwhile, sucks hippo lard.
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