Adam Sandler and Emily Watson star in Punch-Drunk Love, an odd romantic comedy from gifted young director Paul Thomas Anderson. Sandler plays Barry Egan, a shy sad-sack with a great deal of repressed anger that occasionally bursts forth in sudden violent outrages, who falls in love with Lena Leonard (Emily Watson), a co-worker of one of Barry’s seven sisters. After calling a phone-sex line, Barry is extorted by bad-guy Dean Trumbell (Anderson regular Philip Seymour Hoffman), who eventually sends four goons to assault Barry and get the money.
A film I had been meaning to get to seeing for ages, I’m a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson and was intrigued to see what he could do with Adam Sandler. All I can say it did not disappoint but only enhanced my admiration for PTA’s work.
This film wasn’t as dark as I was expecting and really didn’t know which way it was going, the film had me gripped all the way through with an astonishing performance from Sandler.
