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Boogie Nights (1997)
Boogie Nights is, in my opinion, PTA’s best film yet. I’ve only seen three out of his filmography and while Magnolia and There Will Be Blood were riveting films, I liked Boogie Nights a whole lot more. For those who don’t know what the film is about, the movie chronicles the pornography industry in the 70’s and 80’s. A new star, Dirk Diggler is recruited by director Jack Horner, because he’s got “something special”.
What I find so remarkable about Boogie Nights is the amount of wonderfully developed characters. The cast and crew of a porno flick are conveyed as a “family”, with Horner the father, Diggler the son and leading lady Amber Waves the mother figure. Every other character has an interesting backstory, but I especially like William H. Macy’s character, whose wife cheats on him with various men in various places, much to Bill’s embarrassment. He’s a subdued character and his appearances are brief, but still manage to be a very interesting figure in my eyes. But for me, every character is like that in Boogie Nights.
Other than the well conceived characters, the acting in this film is also outstanding. Many mention Burt Reynolds in his career best performance, and rightly so, but it’s Mark Wahlberg who really captured my attention, in a role full of charisma and likeability, which Wahlberg hasn’t achieved since. Every other performance in Boogie Nights is commendable, but I don’t know what is so special about Julianne Moore’s performance. It’s good, but Marky Mark deserved the nomination more.
I liked Boogie Nights a lot more than I thought I would. It’s an extremely well written, well acted film that’s never boring over 2 and a half hours.
Boogie Nights is, in my opinion, PTA’s best film yet. I’ve only seen three out of his filmography and while Magnolia and There Will Be Blood were riveting films, I liked Boogie Nights a whole lot more. For those who don’t know what the film is about, the movie chronicles the pornography industry in the 70’s and 80’s. A new star, Dirk Diggler is recruited by director Jack Horner, because he’s got “something special”.
What I find so remarkable about Boogie Nights is the amount of wonderfully developed characters. The cast and crew of a porno flick are conveyed as a “family”, with Horner the father, Diggler the son and leading lady Amber Waves the mother figure. Every other character has an interesting backstory, but I especially like William H. Macy’s character, whose wife cheats on him with various men in various places, much to Bill’s embarrassment. He’s a subdued character and his appearances are brief, but still manage to be a very interesting figure in my eyes. But for me, every character is like that in Boogie Nights.
Other than the well conceived characters, the acting in this film is also outstanding. Many mention Burt Reynolds in his career best performance, and rightly so, but it’s Mark Wahlberg who really captured my attention, in a role full of charisma and likeability, which Wahlberg hasn’t achieved since. Every other performance in Boogie Nights is commendable, but I don’t know what is so special about Julianne Moore’s performance. It’s good, but Marky Mark deserved the nomination more.
I liked Boogie Nights a lot more than I thought I would. It’s an extremely well written, well acted film that’s never boring over 2 and a half hours.