Just watched this latest Paul Thomas Anderson film and it's the latest in a series of so-called masterpieces from well known directors that are not what is claimed, and worse, represents a severe regression in the filmmaker's canon. Like N.B. Ceylan's Three Monkeys and Bela Tarr's The Man From London, this film is a regression for Anderson, and a worse film than Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights, and even, arguably, Magnolia (yes, I know that had Tom 'The Mannekin' Cruise in it)
Simply put- no tale, hammy acting by Daniel Day Lewis, and no character development. It is Anderson's attempt to make a 21st Century Citizen Kane. But he's not Orson Welles.
The trailer:
