Every Paul Thomas Anderson movie is an event. Following his underrated 1996 debut film “Hard Eight,” Anderson emerged as a major auteur with 1997’s “Boogie Nights,” and he’s been at the forefront of American cinema ever since. Pretty much every Anderson movie has a devoted group of fans who would declare it his greatest work, so a list of the best Anderson movies could include almost any sampling of his films.
I tend to prefer Anderson’s intimate stories over his overblown epics, but even the epics often have tender relationships at their core. Every Anderson movie has something to recommend it, but the best bring together disparate elements in unexpectedly satisfying ways.
With Anderson’s acclaimed new release “One Battle After Another” opening in theaters this week, here are my picks for the best Anderson movies to stream right now.
‘Boogie Nights’
Anderson’s breakthrough film owes a lot to Martin Scorsese, while carving out its own unique path. Set in the adult film industry during the 1970s and 1980s, it follows a classic rise-and-fall showbiz story, featuring porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg).
The wide-eyed Dirk is recruited by adult film mogul Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) thanks to his, uh, substantial endowment. That natural gift quickly turns him into a sensation, but the sweet young man invariably descends into drugs and desperation, while the industry changes around him.
The structure of “Boogie Nights” may be familiar, but Anderson infuses it with vivid detail, capturing the world of adult film during a period of transition, and giving the movie a strong sense of place in his native San Fernando Valley. The large ensemble cast brings a welcome human dimension to an oft-dismissed profession.
Watch on Paramount Plus
‘Magnolia’
If “Boogie Nights” represents Anderson’s effort to emulate Scorsese, then this three-hour epic is his version of a Robert Altman movie, with its expansive cast and multiple intersecting storylines.
A prologue establishes the theme of unlikely coincidences that may not be coincidences at all, and the movie weaves together major events in the lives of numerous characters, whose small decisions have massive consequences both for themselves and for others.
Tom Cruise was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a misogynistic motivational speaker, but the whole cast is excellent, especially Julianne Moore as a regretful trophy wife and William H. Macy as a washed-up former child game-show star. Anderson makes connections in poignant and unexpected ways, using touches of magical realism to find the wonder even in everyday tragedies.
‘Inherent Vice’
![Inherent Vice - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wZfs22E7JmI/maxresdefault.jpg)
Anderson’s first Thomas Pynchon adaptation may be his most polarizing movie, and the shaggy story can seem impenetrable. But the confusion is part of the charm, putting the viewer right alongside baffled private detective Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) as he takes on what appears to be a simple case.
It soon leads him into a labyrinthine conspiracy involving various underground organizations, as the hapless Doc drifts through dangerous situations in a stoned haze. Anderson channels the spirit of hazy Los Angeles neo-noirs like “The Big Lebowski” and “The Long Goodbye,” with their deliberately convoluted plotting.
“Inherent Vice” is Anderson’s funniest movie, reveling in the absurdity of the oddball characters that Doc encounters, with goofy supporting performances by a range of actors, from Reese Witherspoon to Martin Short. It may not have the grandeur of other Anderson movies, but it’s a blast to watch.
Watch on Prime Video
‘Phantom Thread’
![PHANTOM THREAD - Official Trailer [HD] - In Select Theaters Christmas - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xNsiQMeSvMk/maxresdefault.jpg)
At first, Anderson’s 1950s-set character study of an eccentric fashion designer seems like a portrait of an arrogant jerk, but “Phantom Thread” gradually reveals itself as an unconventional romance when the demanding Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) meets his match in strong-willed waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps).
As Reynolds deals with the pressure of designing gowns for high-society women and continues to grieve the loss of his mother, his relationship with Alma becomes a source of both relief and tension.
Anderson meticulously builds the unlikely love story in the same manner that Reynolds designs his clothing, and its power sneaks up on the viewer over time. Day-Lewis and Krieps subtly portray the shifting dynamic between Reynolds and Alma, and “Phantom Thread” ends up as a rewarding portrayal of a kinky relationship, in which two people perfectly match each other's freak.
Watch on Netflix
‘Licorice Pizza’
The sweet mix of romance and nostalgia might make this throwback dramedy seem like a slight effort from Anderson, but it’s full of rich detail drawn from the filmmaker’s youth, with another loving tribute to the treasures of the San Fernando Valley.
Cooper Hoffman — whose father Philip Seymour Hoffman worked with Anderson several times — plays teenage small-time actor and entrepreneur Gary Valentine, who falls for the slightly older Alana Kane (Alana Haim).
Their relationship is playful and friendly at first, and “Licorice Pizza” is as much about the duo’s various misadventures around 1973 Los Angeles as it is about their potential hook-up. Hoffman and Haim have lovely chemistry, and Anderson gently guides them toward a moment of revelation that feels both cathartic and inevitable.
Watch on Prime Video
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