"Talent like Anderson's apparently defies all business sense, though it probably doesn't hurt that he fits the image and that his career, which has bounced from sprawling ensemble dramas like Magnolia to perverse romances like Phantom Thread, has kept coming back to show business in different ways, from the nostalgic high jinks of Licorice Pizza to the porn epic that is Boogie Nights."
"PTA is a true bard of the Golden State in all the glitzy aspirations and tough realities it represents, especially when it comes to the San Fernando Valley, where he was born. Some of his best films are about the West as the true testing ground for the American dream, a place where new faiths are born alongside the time-tested ones of fame and fortune."
Paul Thomas Anderson began filmmaking in 1993 with a short financed using college-tuition money and his girlfriend's credit card. He makes ambitious, sprawling, and often strange films that studios fund despite their infrequent profitability. His career spans ensemble dramas like Magnolia, perverse romances like Phantom Thread, nostalgic work like Licorice Pizza, and the porn-era epic Boogie Nights. His films repeatedly return to show business as subject matter and frequently examine California, especially the San Fernando Valley, as a testing ground for the American dream and the clash of aspiration and reality. One Battle After Another reaches theaters this week.
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