film: punch drunk love

[DigitalDuality]

How is Punch Drunk Love hard to understand, anyway? The plot is extremely simple, and that was the point of it, I think..

BA is right, it never explains or even hints to what is important about the piano. Hell he even brings it to her at the end of the movie, but you never see her recieve it.

You never see WHY IN THE HELL does she fall in love with such a person plauged by OCDs and nervous social anxiety disorder...

 

[Shucklak]

the piano is symbolic. the character is in a downward spiral of lonliness and self loathing and has no self respect. this movie is i think less a love story and more about the way that adam sandlers character improves himself through his relationship with the girl.

the first thing he does in the movie is save the piano, which could be symbolic of his unconscious desire to save himself from the sad, lonely place he has been for most of his life.

Then he repairs it throughout the film as he gains self confidence and respect and happiness by being with this other person. So when he repairs the piano, he is actually repairing his emotional wounds.

Then at the end it (he) is fixed, and he presents it to the person who made it all possible, the girl.

i dont remember everything about the film, but im pretty sure there are other incidences which support this idea.

 

[wanderer21]

Film: Punch Drunk Love

I just saw this movie for the first time this weekend.

I thought it was probably the worst movie I've ever seen in my entire life. I just didn't get the point of it. I mean I laughed a few times and saw the humor in it....but I just didn't see the point of making it a movie.

I was very disappointed by this flick, especialy being as though it's Adam Sandler.

Any thoughts??

 

[DemonsFall]

I didn't particularly like it either. I thought that it was funy in the beginning, for the first 30 minutes or so, and the performances were pretty good, but the story just didnt seem interesting after a while. I just couldn't stay with it.

 

[onetwothreefour]

please search before you start a new thread. i'm going to merge this with the existing one now...

 

[onetwothreefour]

vote now

 

[xtcvitality]

I don't understand how people can consider this "the worst movie they have seen in their entire life". I thought it was a brilliant portrayal of a person with anxiety / depression problems. Adam Sandler did a wonderful job in this flick.

Did people go into this expecting another zany Adam Sandler movie? Wasn't it made blatently obvious that this was the exact opposite?

 

[wanderer21]

^Sorry I didn't search for it...I will before I post next time.
Actually I wish I had searched first...I just read what everyone else said about this movie.

I'm starting to look at it from a different light. One thing that I truly did like about the movie was the filmography...the grocery scenes were cool as hell, the colors throughout the whole movie were awesome and the dream sequence things (color blobs-don't quite understand though, any help??) were pretty cool.

I think my major disappointment was the lack of climax and closure. I was trying to look at it as if it was "a day in the life of" type thing..I don't know. I think I'm going to watch it again a little more opened minded.

 

[Pounding_Grooves]

4 stars !

 

[wanderer21]

Sorry to bump this again...but does anyone understand the significance of teh color/dream sequences in this movie? Please help

 

[steinanwine]

I really love this film but I suppose I am not surprised that so many people disliked it. As Shuba said about 5 years ago, "Subtle, beautifully scripted and very affecting."

I thought all the characters were incredibly interesting, Sandler's especially, of course. His interactions with reality, his sisters, the bizarre, etc is so interesting. He definitely plays a psychologically fascinating character. I think this film is heartbreaking in a lot of ways, I also think its a pretty incredible love story, really funny and really brutal. It is definitely strange and there is stuff in it I don't necessarily understand but I loved it. I really never tried to figure out what the piano was about or anything else that might be "deep" about the film. I just know that there is a lot going on in Barry's life and watching what happens to him and how he reacts to it/deals with it was so interesting for me. Dunno, just really enjoyed and appreciated the film as a whole. I always enjoy it when I watch it again.

 

[AmorRoark]

BA is right, it never explains or even hints to what is important about the piano. Hell he even brings it to her at the end of the movie, but you never see her recieve it.

You never see WHY IN THE HELL does she fall in love with such a person plauged by OCDs and nervous social anxiety disorder...

With the 'never see her receive it'... that's a cinematic theme P.T. Anderson plays with a lot. I guess he's under the school that not everything has to be shown on the screen for his audience to understand it happened.

::Holy respond to a post from 2004!::

 

[Benefit]

I just know that there is a lot going on in Barry's life

There is NOTHING going on in Barry's life. That's the rub; what happens when a loner with nothing going on in his life gets a little stimulation and positive reinforcement? It's not really that interesting of a premise, and consequently the movie bores in long stretches. Adam Sandler was very good, but he doesn't carry the movie in a traditional leading man way meaning the force of his screen presence doesn't mesmerize; he's more like a circus freak show attraction and you look because it's disturbing. It certainly is depressing and disturbing and awkward and uncomfortable to watch Barry and while that doesn't necessarily translate into compelling material for a fictional character it gives you something to think about if you want to.

The sisters are over the top bitches as are the phone sex scammers, which is annoying but makes the payoff with the tire iron pretty well worth it. That was my favorite scene; it's nice to see the character get some redemption in the end, although it's a little formulaic. Adam Sandler does freak out scenes really well.

The movie is short, about 90 minutes, so even if you are bored it's over quick and there should be enough film school camera/lighting tricks and quirky moments to keep you at least mildly interested. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, great as usual.

The piano has no significance because there is no piano. It's a harmonium. The harmonium, coincidentally, also has no significance. Just like the car crash in the beginning is meaningless. You often see meaningless symbols in films attempting to cultivate an arthouse chic. You've gotta just let them pass through you and not spend too much time trying to divine the secret.

 

[eggman]

I liked the story, the acting and the film in general. My main problem with this film where Barry's sisters. They where so unlikable and annoying, I just hated looking at them and listening to them

 

[Rated E]

I think they were supposed to be like that. I guess it put you in Barry's shoes at least.