I used to be a Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) hater. The first movie of his I watched was Boogie Nights, and I thought it was pretty good. Then,  I watched The Master and Magnolia. Now, I HATED magnolia. I didn’t care for the story, I thought it was long, drawn out, and pretentious. After seeing Magnolia, I began to feel all these things about PTA. I thought his movies were pretentious with no real substance or story.  I thought of his films like abstract art you see in museums, where it’s just a splash of various colors on a canvas that’s supposed to have some emotional effect on its audience. But, then I watched There Will Be Blood.

There Will Be Blood was one of the movies that my dad, also a movie lover, would constantly be in my ear about, saying, “You gotta see this movie,” and he was right. There Will Be Blood still has a loose structure like PTA’s other films, but I found this movie to be a powerful portrait of greed and human nature. Needless to say, Daniel Day Lewis’s performance was incredible and helped to portray the greed and a growing bitterness throughout the film. After seeing this movie, I thought to myself, “Okay, this Paul Thomas Anderson isn’t all bad.”

A few weeks ago, I was itching to see something different, something unique, something that I may not like. Who else did I turn to, but Paul Thomas Anderson, and Punch-Drunk Love. I had been interested in this film for a long time because of its lead, Adam Sandler. After seeing Uncut Gems, I learned that Adam Sandler is not only hilarious, but he’s also a really good dramatic actor. Neither Sandler, nor Punch-Drunk Love disappointed.

Punch-Drunk Love follows Barry, a lonely man with seven nagging sisters, his pursuit of love, and his run in with criminals. Barry is genuinely one of the sweetest, most endearing, and relatable characters ever to land on the silver screen. Throughout the entire film, I was smiling, not only because the movie is funny, but also because of how sweet Barry is. Punch-Drunk Love is truly a feel good movie, but it’s also a cinematic masterpiece. Anderson uses every tool available to make this movie as moving as possible. There are large, empty spaces that show Barry’s loneliness, and booming, amplified noises representing the intense, overwhelming emotions that Barry experiences. Adam Sandler’s performance is incredible as well. Unsurprisingly so, not only because he is a great actor, but also because in an interview alongside Paul Thomas Anderson with Charlie Rose, Sandler said that he felt like he was playing himself, because of how similar he is to Barry.

I really like Punch-Drunk Love not only because it’s a great movie, but also because it changed my mind. This movie cemented in my mind that PTA is not just a good director, but a great one, and that I need to back and rewatch his movies with this new perspective, because I feel like I’m definitely missing out on a lot of great cinema.