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Hey guys, Ryan Martian here and today I am going to be discussing the very underrated
Paul Thomas Anderson film 'Punch Drunk Love.' More specifically, the way color and light
is used in this film as a visual metaphor for Barry and Lena's relationship. The film
received mostly mixed reviews upon it's release and it currently has a rating of 7.3 on IMDb
along with a 78 Metacritic score. While these are not terrible scores at all, I personally
believe it is one of Anderson's better and more important films in several ways. It was
a transitional film that segued from his larger Altman-esque ensemble films – 'Boogie Nights'
and 'Magnolia' – and into his later character studies with 'There Will be Blood' and 'The
Master.' Most importantly, I believe it was his most mature and original film up that
point and when he finally found his true artistic voice and vision. Don't get me wrong, I love
both 'Boogie Nights' and 'Magnolia' and – for the most part - they do feel like P.T. Anderson
films. However – at the same time - you can practically smell his cinematic heroes'
influences from a mile away.
As always there are major spoilers ahead, but I always want to give you guys a fair
warning. You have been warned.
Color and light play very important roles as well as visual devices throughout this
film in regards to Barry and Lena's characters and their budding relationship. Red and blue
compliment each other pretty much perfectly – not only on the color scheme but also
as their traditional associations with the male and female genders - so it's no accident
that these specific colors were used. Also, light – whether natural or man-made – is
always prominent throughout the film and this is also no accident.
At the beginning of the film when Barry exits the garage to look at the harmonium on the
sidewalk, the sun is shining onto his face. A few seconds later, Lena pulls up past the
harmonium in her car and drives towards Barry. It's important to note that even though it's
a bright sunny day, her headlights are on and they are facing right at Barry. As Lena
turns off the lights and gets out of the car, the camera immediately pans slightly to the
right and the sun is now occupying the frame; one light source has been replaced with another.
Barry cowers back into the garage and Lena – with the sun behind her - starts running
towards him. She coaxes him back and when the characters meet – not only are they
wearing their respective blue and red - the sun is shining down from behind Lena directly
onto Barry. During this entire sequence, Lena – as well as the light - are already practically
begging to lead Barry towards a better life and out of his neurotic shell. It's also important
to note that the lens flare in the middle of the screen has Barry's blue directed towards
Lena and – conversely - Lena's red towards Barry.
Later during their dinner date, Barry is dressed in his usual blue suit and Lena is once again
wearing red. At first, Anderson shoots them each within their own frame from behind, but
soon he uses a wide angle shot of the table and they are now occupying the same frame
with each other. The light above them is shining down on the middle of the table, inviting
and imploring them to come closer and throughout the scene, the characters themselves, as well
as the camera – via a slow zoom – do come closer and closer. At the same time - in the
window above the door to the restaurant – we see flashes of lights (in this case car headlights)
zoom past. Barry is about to have another one of his meltdowns and the lights are trying
to guide him away from the aftermath because there is still plenty of light ahead of them
on their path outside of the restaurant. And wouldn't you know it, when Barry and Lena
leave the restaurant a tractor trailer is reflecting light right down on them; along
with a perfectly placed red stop sign metaphorically urging Barry to stop losing his temper. The
scene closes with Barry and Lena walking towards his car and the colors of the car dealership
in front of them are bathed in blue and red; symbolically they are slowly becoming one.
Back at Lena's apartment, she casually says “if you're going to be in Hawaii...” Barry
shrugs it off and gives her a kiss on the cheek and shakes her hand goodbye. As he leaves,
the exit signs above him are blue as opposed to the normal red; Barry is once again going
down an all too familiar and beaten path. At the same time, the red fire hose in the
hallway is facing directly at Lena's door because that is where Barry should still be.
Down in the lobby, the clerk tells Barry he has a phone call. On the right hand side of the
screen there is a faint light. Barry finds out it's Lena on the phone and she says she
wanted to kiss him. As the scene unfolds, Anderson uses a slow zoom and the light becomes
brighter and brighter and even brighter.
During Barry's frantic retreat back to Lena's apartment, he accidentally opens a fire exit
at one point and the color of the garage is blue. Even though the alarm is in and of itself
enough of an indication, the blue color once again reinforces he was about to take the
wrong path. When he finally reaches her apartment and she opens the door, there is a light welcoming
him back and they kiss for the first time.
After Barry's confrontation with the Brothers and a phone call from his sister about the
broken windows, he decides it's time to cash in the pudding so he can take a trip to Hawaii
to see Lena. Even though it will take 6-8 weeks to process, he decides to leave immediately
and as he runs out the garage door, a red tractor trailer driving past greets him as
he starts his journey – along with the best use of Harry Nilsson's “He Needs Me” since
the original film.
We cut to a shot of Barry briskly walking down an airport hallway and the ticket takers
at the opposite end are both wearing red suit tops. We follow him around the corner and
what is arguably one of the prettiest and most composed shots of the film occurs: Barry
is literally walking towards the light at this point. Anderson implements a few seconds
of slow motion to further reinforce this device and it's perfectly executed. After the flight,
he exits the airport and the Hawaiian sun completely envelops him. He has a giant grin
on his face and it's possibly the first we've seen Barry actually happy. Next we see Barry
calling his sister from a payphone in order to find out where Lena is staying. The dancers
in the parade are wearing red and the panel on the pay phone is blue. She starts to tease
him and Barry has had enough; he threatens to kill her but at the same time this is important
because he is finally asserting himself to the sister who has tormented him for his entire
life. He calls the hotel and - after a quick comedic beat where the clerk connects him
to the wrong room – Lena picks up. As soon as she does this, the light on the phone turns
on and as an extra little touch, the crowd watching the parade goes wild. A short time
later they meet up at the hotel and Lena is wearing all white at this point; she has literally
become the light that was guiding Barry this entire time.
Barry approaches with an awkward handshake but Lena goes right in for another kiss and
they embrace each other as the rest of the world passes them by. A few seconds later,
we are rewarded with what is arguably the prettiest and most perfectly composed shot
of the entire film.
As always guys, thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please drop a like or
subscribe. Thanks again.