Although Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza is not a favorite of the Oscar race, it is definitely recommended to be watched from the nominees list. Not for the rave reviews or the BAFTA (Best Screenplay) award, not for the high audience ratings or three Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director, none of which, sadly, were justified), just in modern realities, apparently, such a thing. I can’t do without a movie. And while everyone else is betting on “The Power of the Dog” or “Belfast,” it’s “Licorice Pizza”, the sometimes tense, sometimes thought-provoking dramas with clear social overtones that grabs the attention of mass audiences.
Among all the filmography of Paul Thomas Anderson, this film stands out especially brightly: it lacks the monumentality of Oil, the complexity of Phantom Thread, or the philosophy of The Master. Instead of serious questions and a multi-layered plot, the screen features the summer of 1973, the sun-drenched San Fernando Valley, and the intimate and unpretentious story of first love. In fact, it’s the perfect romantic comedy with a pretty trivial plot for him: the two can’t be together, but they find each other despite the music of David Bowie, The Doors, and Paul McCartney. And even though they talk about the first gas crisis on television in the background and the characters are caricatured in a Japanese accent, the plot is driven not by these era milestones, but by the emotions of two young people who are just learning about life.
In a way, Licorice Pizza is like a young man’s fantasy: the main character, Gary Valentine (for Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son Cooper Hoffman, this is a promising movie), he is only 15 years old, and 25-year-old Alana (after this role Alana Haim of the Haim group, on-screen). his first role was a great discovery for many), meet in the queue. She ends up dating even though they’re fun and free together, but she doesn’t seem to have anything to talk about with older men. But a failed romance doesn’t stop them from becoming good friends, business partners, and living a short life in just one summer. Paul Thomas Anderson’s heroes are typical characters not only for their time, but for this era in general. He unsuccessfully tries himself in the field of acting and takes his first steps in business, selling waterbeds and opening a playhouse and says “yes” to literally everything, without making any plans for life and not understanding where to go next: Initially, he works as a photographer’s assistant , then tries her hand at the movies, joins a friend’s entrepreneurial adventures, and even helps out at a mayoral candidate’s headquarters. In a search state – both external and internal – they are continuous and independent of each other. This, by the way, is another important distinguishing feature of “Licorice Pizza” from other works of Paul Thomas Anderson – here the female character is independent, moreover, it is she who comes to the fore.
In general, the cast of the movie “Pizza” was confirmed down to the details, as befits the director: Bradley Cooper plays the episodic role of Oscar-worthy extravagant producer Jon Peters (at the Academy, unfortunately, they don’t think so. No nominations), the character Sean Penn is the actual sisters of actors Jack Holden and Alana Haim, as well as their counterparts in the Haim group, which Anderson hits harder. multiple videos also appear in the movie. He wrote the main character from a real person – his friend producer Gary Goetzman, who worked as an actor and waterbed salesman at the beginning of his career in Hollywood.
“I’ve been thinking about this idea that has haunted me for nearly 20 years: What happens when an eighth grader asks a grown woman out and she really comes to him? This has always been some kind of comedy premise, and I was lucky to combine it with my friendship with Gary Goetzman and Alana Haim at the time,” Paul Thomas Anderson said in an interview with Vanity Fair. In Licorice Pizza, everything really came together: this is a naive, kind and bright film that takes you to another world where everyone is happy and always leaves a pleasant aftertaste and a smile after an incredibly beautiful finale. And if the screen needs Alana to realize that a few idiots and the words “I love you” are worthy of the person she calls friend, we are ready to wait.
Source: People Talk
