This is probably P.T. Anderson's best film yet, even better than the great Magnolia. The reason why is because Boogie Nights doesn�t intertwine too many characters stories, instead concentrating on just one, and that is the story of the rise and fall of porn star Dirk Diggler.
Dirk, played brilliantly by Mark Wahlberg, is the 17 year old kid whom, annoyed with his Mum, leaves home and is taken in by porn entrepreneur Jack Horner, played by Burt Reynolds. Here Dirk finds tons of new buddies, like Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly from Chicago), Buck Swope (Don Cheadle of Swordfish fame) and many more, all acted superbly. However, Dirk starts to become unduly arrogant, and this change of character is the turning point, starting his descent into drugs and mayhem. The story is great then, not too much swapping and the sort like Magnolia, yet not too slow to lose our concentration. This is a carefully paced drama.
What really carries this film though is the music. In every P.T. Anderson film I�ve seen the music is great, and is constant all the way through. It changes to state what mood the people are in, and that is really clever.
This film is a little bit rude, and if you see the full uncut version, the ending might be quite a shock. Lets just say you ain�t seen one that big! I recommend seeing this soon, for all fans of drama, and for those looking for a great depiction of the porn industry and the 70�s and 80�s in general. Also the region 1 special edition is brilliant, so perhaps you should start there. |
