One Movie After Another: Paul Thomas Anderson

Jan. 30–April 23

Paul Thomas Anderson has crafted a singular body of work in his nine features released across nearly 30 years. Anderson’s abiding interest in tales set in his native California, specifically the San Fernando Valley, where he grew up and lives today, informs the authenticity of place and time depicted in BOOGIE NIGHTS, MAGNOLIA, LICORICE PIZZA and this year’s ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER.

His early films often drew comparison to Robert Altman’s work, but Anderson’s later films have branched out to include darker, probing psychodramas like THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE MASTER and PHANTOM THREAD, each a narrative that engages with recognizable “great man” history but told in a way that reveals these not-so-great men for who they are. But even in his darkest material, Anderson retains his sense of humor, his feeling for romance and a possibility for generosity and kindness. A taste for the surreal, be it oddball humor or perverse narrative twists, runs through all of his work.

Anderson has directed actors as different as Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, Lesley Manville and Tom Cruise to Oscar®-nominated performances, with Day-Lewis winning the Best Actor Oscar® for his towering performance in THERE WILL BE BLOOD. With Anderson’s latest film ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER poised to earn more accolades, now is the perfect time to take a look back at the work of this master filmmaker.