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He is the star of Punch-Drunk Love, a romantic comedy
of sorts in which his lonely life is turned upon its head
when he makes the mistake of calling a sex-phone line just
to talk to someone.
His shyness and awkwardness around people is not helped by
his sisters who delight in calling him fagboy - an insult
that always results in his getting physically violent and
vandalising whatever he can get to.
To throw oil on the fire, one of them wants to set him up
with a co-worker of her's who turns out to be the delightfully
sensitive Lena (Emily Watson).
It should be pointed out that Barry also has an obsession
with collecting foodstuffs that will earn him multiple fly-buy
points - despite the fact he hasn't travelled, and he gets
great comfort from playing a small harmonium.
Anyway, the romance, as you would expect, does have a few
rocky patches - especially when the sex-phone company decides
to blackmail Barry over his innocent call.
Punch-Drunk Love is not an easy movie to get into
- intitially anyway - but it is superb and both Sandler and
Watson are just sensational.
Sandler plays the role straight and if, as I suspect, he
is supposed to be autistic then he has done a fantastic job
portraying that condition with sympathy but not pity.
Watson is wonderfully warm and understanding and you can't
help but keep your fingers crossed that things work out in
the end.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson has done a marvellous
job with Punch-Drunk Love and I highly recommend it.
Conclusion: Movie 90% Extras 55%
Continued: DVD
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