PT Anderson's docu-satire on the hardcore porn industry of the late 70's and its collapse over the conservative 80's is a bold and daring tale. It also establishes him as one of the greatest young directors around at the moment. Anderson creates a unique style in the visual aspect of the film. It maintains the look and feel of a low-budget porn movie, but also the un-graded look of a documentary and the over-lapping, interweaving narrative of a satire. Indeed, he really should pay his dues to Robert Altman as he creates a similar effect. `Boogie Nights' certainly isn't for the easily provoked. There's an awareness of explicit sex as well as an aberrant sexual content, throughout. It's actually surprising that the film didn't receive an X rating (i.e. the kiss of death) from the MPAA.
But one thing that `Boogie Nights' may have missed out on- perhaps intentionally- was heart. All of the characters have such high degrees of bad attitudes, it's hard to really sympathise with them or understand what they're going through. The movie follows an unusual pattern. While it is ultimately compelling, it lacks the overall dramatic shape and comprehensiveness of what it sets out to be. It also may have benefited from a better- that is more audible- soundtrack.
Much like the style of Altman, the movie creates large visual sweeps as it takes in a variety of events and talks. The sound emphasises on the key elements. The editing is done very seldom in each scene as the camera follows around the characters for long periods of time, adding to the authenticity of it all. These techniques are very impressive and appreciative, but with so many characters on screen at once and the rapid-rate plot, the supporting characters rarely develop. As soon as the camera settles on one character, it quickly moves on to the next, providing us with no new information or background. And in classic Altman sense, sub-plots are briefly glanced upon but rarely explored. All characters are taken at face value.
Having said that, there are tremendous performances all round from a cast made up almost entirely of Anderson's best friends in showbiz. Mark Wahlberg is a suitable lead while Burt Reynolds' turn as porn director Jack Horner is probably his best performance to date, though he takes the back seat for most of the movie. Julianne Moore's Amber Waves is an excellent creation and she perfectly balances sex-goddess with vulnerable single mother. Other supporting parts, no matter how small, are all fine but the real stand-out is John C. Reilly. It's strange how someone can go from saintly nobody (`Chicago', `Magnolia') to egotistical, tyrannical porn-star so easily.
Other technical credits are top-notch all round. The art direction and cinematography are so synthetic to the last detail; it's easy to forget that the film was made in 1997. Of course there have been many complaints about the shocking amount of violence towards the end. While they may have gotten a little carried away with themselves, I prefer to think of them as punctuation marks stressing how important the given scene, and the collapse of the porn industry is.
In my humble opinion, `Magnolia' is the better film as it went into a little more depth with the characters (virtually played by the exact same actors) but `Boogie Nights' is a glistening, gritty and colossal satire on the change of attitudes as the 70's ended and the 80's began. My IMDb rating: 8.0/10.
But one thing that `Boogie Nights' may have missed out on- perhaps intentionally- was heart. All of the characters have such high degrees of bad attitudes, it's hard to really sympathise with them or understand what they're going through. The movie follows an unusual pattern. While it is ultimately compelling, it lacks the overall dramatic shape and comprehensiveness of what it sets out to be. It also may have benefited from a better- that is more audible- soundtrack.
Much like the style of Altman, the movie creates large visual sweeps as it takes in a variety of events and talks. The sound emphasises on the key elements. The editing is done very seldom in each scene as the camera follows around the characters for long periods of time, adding to the authenticity of it all. These techniques are very impressive and appreciative, but with so many characters on screen at once and the rapid-rate plot, the supporting characters rarely develop. As soon as the camera settles on one character, it quickly moves on to the next, providing us with no new information or background. And in classic Altman sense, sub-plots are briefly glanced upon but rarely explored. All characters are taken at face value.
Having said that, there are tremendous performances all round from a cast made up almost entirely of Anderson's best friends in showbiz. Mark Wahlberg is a suitable lead while Burt Reynolds' turn as porn director Jack Horner is probably his best performance to date, though he takes the back seat for most of the movie. Julianne Moore's Amber Waves is an excellent creation and she perfectly balances sex-goddess with vulnerable single mother. Other supporting parts, no matter how small, are all fine but the real stand-out is John C. Reilly. It's strange how someone can go from saintly nobody (`Chicago', `Magnolia') to egotistical, tyrannical porn-star so easily.
Other technical credits are top-notch all round. The art direction and cinematography are so synthetic to the last detail; it's easy to forget that the film was made in 1997. Of course there have been many complaints about the shocking amount of violence towards the end. While they may have gotten a little carried away with themselves, I prefer to think of them as punctuation marks stressing how important the given scene, and the collapse of the porn industry is.
In my humble opinion, `Magnolia' is the better film as it went into a little more depth with the characters (virtually played by the exact same actors) but `Boogie Nights' is a glistening, gritty and colossal satire on the change of attitudes as the 70's ended and the 80's began. My IMDb rating: 8.0/10.