Nice Guys
Sometimes being nice and being average is the best thing for a man to be. This being the case for Barry Egan, a mid 30-year-old plunger salesman living in southern California. In Punch Drunk Love, Egan learns to live life outside his secure daily routine, while trying to find love at the same time. Although he does experience many obstacles in his path to happiness he overcomes them triumphantly, and ends with a more content life. Through the usage of wonderful character acting and stylized filmic techniques director Paul Thomas Anderson is able to bring the average story of a plunger sales man and his mysterious love interest to life.
As Egan, Adam Sandler takes a step outside his overly physical comedic type character, Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, to play an introverted social outcast, with a family of seven sisters and only a couple of friends. This over powering female presence in his life becomes apparent with the constant nagging phone calls at work, and dating pressure the sisters put on him. As a result of this Egan finds it intimidating to be in situations with the opposite sex, and reduces himself to calling a phone sex service just to have some type of intimate connection with a woman. In a typical Sandler role his character would use some form of physical humor to attract the ladies, but not for Egan. To pull off an overly nervous introvert Sandler uses subtle acting choices, speaking softly, to complement his character’s irrational actions, flying to hawaii suddenly, which blend wonderfully for the character’s personality.
Emily Watson, an extremely talented character actress, plays a rather quiet and mysterious middle-aged office worker. The audience is never given any indepth character back ground on Lena other than her occupation, and the fact that she is attracted to Egan. Due to this lack of knowledge from the audience, Watson has to work extra hard to gain the necessary emotional responses. She makes a lasting impression by acting so gentle and caring towards Egan, which is completely opposite to his Type A personality sisters. Basically, she acts just normal while around Egan, and gains the audience’s attention from her actions. While showing her acting range as a blind laboratory worker in Red Dragon, and as an over worked English maid in Gosford Park this role gives her a persona of every day mystique, adding another impressive performance her a long and distinguished resume.
For the alumni Saturday Night Live performer, Sandler became a hallmark in comedy films for his high level physical antics (Happy Gilmore), and his exceptional talent for playing the village idiot (Billy Madison). However, by breaking away from his on screen persona, Sandler gives an honest and heartfelt performance. Even though his character, Barry Egan, is in most circumstances anti-confrontational and reserved, there are a few instances where he lashes out irrationally. While at a party for his sister, Egan suddenly kicks in three pains on a sliding glass door with such intensity and veracity that it startles the audience to see such a sudden shift in character. In another scene of irrational rage, Egan proceeds to “beat up” a bathroom while on a date with Lena, and then acts so calm in denying it to the restaurant manage. These instances are where the physicality of Sandler bring the character of Egan to life. By pushing personal acting norms into a more internal performance of his character, and using a form of the physical comedy Sandler is famous for he puts on a remarkable performance.
Along with wonderful performances from an amazing cast, the stylistic elements of the film’s lighting and camera techniques can not be over looked. The majority of the film is shot with a wide lens giving the straight lines on the frame a curved appearance around the edges of the picture. This portraying a world slightly out of balance, and gives a different perspective on a character’s life. Director Paul Thomas Anderson, Magnolia and Boogie Nights, uses this technique right in the beginning of this film to help the audience understand that Egan lives in an unbalanced world. The second shot of the film is a medium close-up on Egan shot from a wide angle lens. Although this techniques allows more visual space to be in the frame, it distorts the normal visual world. During this sequence, Egan carries on a phone conversation concerning a free milage promotion offered through Healthy Choice products. Along with this being rather unusual conversation to have, it is given an extra feel of uniqueness by having Egan’s surroundings out of balance.
Also, his usage of color to develop character and to help invoke emotional responses for the audience is dominate through out Punch Drunk Love. In addition to Sandler giving a truthful performance to help convey his character on screen, Anderson uses the color blue to intensify Egan’s depression and isolation. Usually blue light casts unforgiving shadow onto its subjects leaving them look very washed out and lifeless. It can amplify a feeling of coldness from a harsh illusion of instability on characters. Egan appears to be isolated by his surrounding when he is being dominate by his sisters or the pressures of his job, and by using blue lighting and costuming it gives the audience a deeper understanding into the harsh surroundings of his everyday reality. To complement this depression and harshness Lena is presented to the audience surrounded by warm colors especially red. During the dinner date scene where Egan proceeds to “beat up” the bathroom, Lena is dressed in a feminine solid red dress. Since the character of Lena is more mysterious, this red dress offers an insight into her personality without it having to be talked about in the dialogue. In general, her character brings warmth to the life of Egan and teaches him to love and sacrifice in the end. It is a nice touch to have her dressed and surrounded by a warm and loving color. Anderson’s stylistic decisions to bring color and camera techniques to a noticeable level worked well in enhancing the overall effect of the film.
It is refreshing to see a star break out of their character type to play a role that under many circumstances would be perfect for a completely opposite actor. Sandler is able to effectively break his stereotype by bringing the introverted Barry Egan to life, and adds in a touch of the physicality that he is known for. He is helped with a wonderful supporting cast of superior character actors, Emily Watson and Luis Guzman, in giving Egan drive and passion in his life. To help enhance the film’s unbalanced mood director Anderson uses stylized camera techniques and emotional colors to give an in-depth insight into the lives or his cast of characters. In the end al of these elements of film making come to an artful pinnacle, and tells a wonderful story of an average everyday nice guy who feels special in the end.
As Egan, Adam Sandler takes a step outside his overly physical comedic type character, Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, to play an introverted social outcast, with a family of seven sisters and only a couple of friends. This over powering female presence in his life becomes apparent with the constant nagging phone calls at work, and dating pressure the sisters put on him. As a result of this Egan finds it intimidating to be in situations with the opposite sex, and reduces himself to calling a phone sex service just to have some type of intimate connection with a woman. In a typical Sandler role his character would use some form of physical humor to attract the ladies, but not for Egan. To pull off an overly nervous introvert Sandler uses subtle acting choices, speaking softly, to complement his character’s irrational actions, flying to hawaii suddenly, which blend wonderfully for the character’s personality.
Emily Watson, an extremely talented character actress, plays a rather quiet and mysterious middle-aged office worker. The audience is never given any indepth character back ground on Lena other than her occupation, and the fact that she is attracted to Egan. Due to this lack of knowledge from the audience, Watson has to work extra hard to gain the necessary emotional responses. She makes a lasting impression by acting so gentle and caring towards Egan, which is completely opposite to his Type A personality sisters. Basically, she acts just normal while around Egan, and gains the audience’s attention from her actions. While showing her acting range as a blind laboratory worker in Red Dragon, and as an over worked English maid in Gosford Park this role gives her a persona of every day mystique, adding another impressive performance her a long and distinguished resume.
For the alumni Saturday Night Live performer, Sandler became a hallmark in comedy films for his high level physical antics (Happy Gilmore), and his exceptional talent for playing the village idiot (Billy Madison). However, by breaking away from his on screen persona, Sandler gives an honest and heartfelt performance. Even though his character, Barry Egan, is in most circumstances anti-confrontational and reserved, there are a few instances where he lashes out irrationally. While at a party for his sister, Egan suddenly kicks in three pains on a sliding glass door with such intensity and veracity that it startles the audience to see such a sudden shift in character. In another scene of irrational rage, Egan proceeds to “beat up” a bathroom while on a date with Lena, and then acts so calm in denying it to the restaurant manage. These instances are where the physicality of Sandler bring the character of Egan to life. By pushing personal acting norms into a more internal performance of his character, and using a form of the physical comedy Sandler is famous for he puts on a remarkable performance.
Along with wonderful performances from an amazing cast, the stylistic elements of the film’s lighting and camera techniques can not be over looked. The majority of the film is shot with a wide lens giving the straight lines on the frame a curved appearance around the edges of the picture. This portraying a world slightly out of balance, and gives a different perspective on a character’s life. Director Paul Thomas Anderson, Magnolia and Boogie Nights, uses this technique right in the beginning of this film to help the audience understand that Egan lives in an unbalanced world. The second shot of the film is a medium close-up on Egan shot from a wide angle lens. Although this techniques allows more visual space to be in the frame, it distorts the normal visual world. During this sequence, Egan carries on a phone conversation concerning a free milage promotion offered through Healthy Choice products. Along with this being rather unusual conversation to have, it is given an extra feel of uniqueness by having Egan’s surroundings out of balance.
Also, his usage of color to develop character and to help invoke emotional responses for the audience is dominate through out Punch Drunk Love. In addition to Sandler giving a truthful performance to help convey his character on screen, Anderson uses the color blue to intensify Egan’s depression and isolation. Usually blue light casts unforgiving shadow onto its subjects leaving them look very washed out and lifeless. It can amplify a feeling of coldness from a harsh illusion of instability on characters. Egan appears to be isolated by his surrounding when he is being dominate by his sisters or the pressures of his job, and by using blue lighting and costuming it gives the audience a deeper understanding into the harsh surroundings of his everyday reality. To complement this depression and harshness Lena is presented to the audience surrounded by warm colors especially red. During the dinner date scene where Egan proceeds to “beat up” the bathroom, Lena is dressed in a feminine solid red dress. Since the character of Lena is more mysterious, this red dress offers an insight into her personality without it having to be talked about in the dialogue. In general, her character brings warmth to the life of Egan and teaches him to love and sacrifice in the end. It is a nice touch to have her dressed and surrounded by a warm and loving color. Anderson’s stylistic decisions to bring color and camera techniques to a noticeable level worked well in enhancing the overall effect of the film.
It is refreshing to see a star break out of their character type to play a role that under many circumstances would be perfect for a completely opposite actor. Sandler is able to effectively break his stereotype by bringing the introverted Barry Egan to life, and adds in a touch of the physicality that he is known for. He is helped with a wonderful supporting cast of superior character actors, Emily Watson and Luis Guzman, in giving Egan drive and passion in his life. To help enhance the film’s unbalanced mood director Anderson uses stylized camera techniques and emotional colors to give an in-depth insight into the lives or his cast of characters. In the end al of these elements of film making come to an artful pinnacle, and tells a wonderful story of an average everyday nice guy who feels special in the end.
posted by Jessica B. at
2:59 PM
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