Here is our review of Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, nominated for three Academy Awards
TITLE: Licorice Pizza. GENUS: comedy. COUNTRY: USA. DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson. CAST: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits, Benny Safdie, Maya Rudolph, Skyler Gisondo, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Joseph Cross. time: 133 minutes. PRODUCTION: MGM, Focus Features, Bron Creative. ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Eagle Pictures. EXIT: March 17, 2022.
After five long years, Paul Thomas Anderson returns to directing a feature film. His latest gem was The Hidden Thread, which saw the great Daniel Day-Lewis last performance before his premature retirement. Meanwhile, the director has dedicated himself to minor projects, such as the direction of the short film Anima and some music videos of the group Haim. The protagonist of Licorice Pizza, Alana Haim, in his film debut. Next to her we find the young man Cooper Hoffmanson of the late Philipp Seymour Hoffman passed away in 2014, also at his first experience on the big screen. A courageous cast choice, for what he is one of the most appreciated directors of the last 25 years. Let’s go into the Licorice Pizza review, to find out if the choice has paid off.
The plot | Licorice Pizza Review
San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, 1973. During photo day in high school, 15-year-old actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) meets 25-year-old assistant photographer Alana (Alana Haim) and asks her to go to dinner that night. She, despite being hesitant about the age difference, accepts, however making it clear that the two of them are not a couple. From here begins the story of a strong friendship, which will change the two boys forever. Over the course of the Californian summer, Alana and Cooper make their first team, founding a water mattress business, and then move away, to pursue the passions and loves that only that period she can give.
The cast | Licorice Pizza Review
The wager to bet on two newbies like Haim and Hoffman turned out winning. The two protagonists are the true heart of the film, giving away one solid and mature performance despite the inexperience. Between the two stands Alana Haim, also thanks to a script that focuses much more on her character rather than on her male counterpart, leaving her the space to make the cinematographic Alana a young woman fought and multi-faceted. In the cast, however, to steal the show are two other members: Sean Penn and, in particular, Bradley Cooper. The two appear for a very few minutes on the screen, but offer exceptional performances, partially obscuring the protagonists themselves. The scene with Cooper (who recently starred in Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley) and Hoffman is a constant laugh, for the seriousness with which the experienced actor confronts the young man, while threatening him several times. Finally, the proof of Alana’s family in the film should be underlined, which happens to be the real Haim family of reality. They appear in very few scenes, which however remain indelible in the eyes of the viewer, who cannot help but imagine scenes similar to a regular Haim family dinner.
A film that is good for the heart | Licorice Pizza Review
This can be said of Licorice Pizza. Throughout the course of the film you laugh, get excited and, once finished, you leave the room lighter. Licorice Pizza is about a love storyma not the classic and stereotyped of teenagers. The two protagonists are very far from each other, not only for the age difference. Gary is young, but no longer so young as to be a kid: in his environment the competition is getting tougher and it has to grow fast, if you want to find a place at the grown-up table. Alana, for her part, is young but he constantly finds himself in the center in many situations: on the one hand she sees Gary, who is in love with her from the first moment he saw her, but who is ten years younger; on the other she sees the world of the greats, with people like Jack Holden (Sean Penn), ready to charm her, only to leave her behind the second after. For both of us she is a transition period and they are lucky to have found each other. This inner strangeness comes beautifully brought to the screenwith several scenes that perfectly represent the uncertainty of the two protagonists and the timing, which they both pursue throughout the film.
Conclusions
Licorice Pizza is a beautiful movieof those to watch when you feel a little down and you need a smile. We are told an apparently unusual love story, but which slowly falls into the ranks of the genre, failing to surprise especially in the finale. The two protagonists debut on the big screen with a bang, with some solid performance and well packaged by one direction and a very high level screenplay, as Paul Thomas Anderson has accustomed us to. The director gives us a bright film, full of heart and hopeful. It seems to be in front of the ‘for everyone’ version of his ’97 Boogie Nights which, for those who do not know him, tells the world of the porn film of the ’70s. Licorice Pizza is nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay and the next one will be released in theaters March 17. Don’t miss it!
And you, what do you think of our Licorice Pizza review? Will you see the film in the cinema? Let us know in the comments!
A film that warms the heart
Points in favor
- The engaging direction of Paul Thomas Anderson
- The cast test
Points against
- The plot, while excellent, is not surprising
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