BOOGIE NIGHTS (R).
Director:Paul Thomas Anderson
Stars:
Mark Wahlberg, Julianne
Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle,
John C Reilly, Heather Graham,
William H Macy, Philip Baker Hall,
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Nicole
Parker, Robert Ridgely, Luis
Guzman, Thomas Jane, Ricky Jay,
Alfred Molina, Melora Walters
Running Time:154minutes.
After more than a decade in the cinematic wilderness,
former action hero Burt Reynolds makes a
triumphant return with one of his best roles as Jack
Horner, the film director who takes a rather simple
minded but well-endowed teenager and turns him into
a porn superstar. Horner is an idealistic director who
aims to revolutionise the pornography industry and
turn it into a credible art form. He has gathered
around him a group of like minded film makers and
actors whom he regards as a sort of extended family.
Their personal lives are something of a mess, but they
find acceptance and comfort as part of Horner's
coterie.
Horner spies Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg)
working in the kitchen of an LA restaurant, and,
recognising that his good looks have enormous appeal
and potential, he offers him a job starring in his "adult
entertainments." Eddie is easily seduced by the
glamorous lifestyle of the film industry and the
obvious trappings of success. He is also quick to
escape his unhappy family home, dominated by his
shrewish mother, to become part of Horner's
extended film making family. He changes his name to
Dirk Diggler, and quickly becomes the toast of the
porn industry, winning numerous awards along the
way.
But as he grows more successful, Eddie also grows
more arrogant, until too much drink, drugs and sex
mar his judgement and Horner finally fires him.
Unable to find work, Eddie sinks further into a
destructive cycle of drink and drugs that eventually
takes a harsh toll.
One of the more strikingly original films to emerge
from mainstream Hollywood, Boogie Nights is more
than just the story of the rise and fall and rise again of
a porn star. Set against the background of the porn
industry in the late '70's and early '80's, this
sprawling, colourful and vibrant black comedy follows
the personal highs and lows of a group of actors and
film makers. Boogie Nights is also a beautifully
realised and nostalgic evocation of the era in which
the story is set.
Although barely old enough to remember the heady
days of the '70's, 27 year old director Paul Thomas
Anderson (the little seen independent crime thriller
Hard Eight, etc) recreates this forgotten era superbly.
Every detail rings true, from the garish costumes
through to the music that dominates the sensational
soundtrack. The film also charts the changing mood
of America as it moves from the freedom, optimism
and easy going spirit of the '70's into the more cynical
atmosphere of the '80's. Disillusionment and greed set
in and the dream eventually turns sour.
The second half of this lengthy but fascinating film
seems somewhat less successful than the first, which
is staged with energy and a wicked sense of humour.
The second half seems more episodic and
unpleasantly down beat, and the narrative rhythm
occasionally becomes uneven. There are some
unpleasantly graphic moments of violence here,
although Anderson does not sensationalise, trivialise
or unnecessarily exploit these moments as they are
part of the depressing milieu into which Eddie and his
friends have sunk.
The numerous sex scenes are tastefully handled,
although the subject matter of the film itself is bound
to be controversial, and the famous final scene will
probably upset some of the more conservative
elements.
To bring his eccentric, tragically flawed characters to
life, Anderson has assembled a wonderful ensemble
cast, and their strong, insightful performances add a
human face to an industry that remains mysterious,
vilified and misunderstood. Former teen idol, pop star
and underwear model Wahlberg proved that he can
act with his strong debut in The Basketball Diaries,
and he delivers another complex and revealing
performance here as Eddie. Reynolds easily
dominates the film with his wonderfully self-effacing,
slyly comic performance as Horner.
Julianne Moore is solid as Amber Waves, the
matronly porn queen who is Horner's muse. Heather
Graham (last seen in the independent film Swingers)
plays the vulnerable, child like porn star known
simply as Rollergirl, because of her trade mark roller
blades. Don Cheadle plays Buck, the stereo
salesman who also doubles as a porn star on the side,
but who struggles to find acceptance in the real world.
The ensemble cast also includes John C Reilly,
Philip Baker Hall and Phillip Seymour Hoffman,
who all appeared in Anderson's Hard Eight, and
William H Macy (Fargo, etc) as the tragic Little Bill.