The movie Paul Thomas Anderson is most proud of making
It’s tough to pick Paul Thomas Anderson’s best film. A case could be made for There Will Be Blood, the 2007 epic exploring the rise of an oilman played by Daniel Day-Lewis, as is there for the interrelated storytelling found in 1999’s Magnolia. However, Anderson himself believes that his best film is The Master.
“I think that won’t change,” Anderson said. “The amount of emotion I put into it and they put into it — they being Phil [Seymour Hoffman], Joaquin [Phoenix] and Amy [Adams]. I’m not sure it’s entirely successful. But that’s fine with me. It feels right. It feels unique to me”.
The Master came out in 2012 and explored the mental struggles of a World War II Navy veteran (Phoenix), who discovers a fascinating religious movement with a strange and charismatic leader at its forefront (Hoffman). The film was widely-celebrated and is considered one of Anderson’s finest cinematic moments.
Anderson added, “I really hope it will be something people can revisit and enjoy in a way that equals my pride in it,” he continued. “And pride can be a dangerous thing, and I’m not being very quiet about my pride in saying all this. But I just feel really proud of it. And of course, there’s a particular sentimentality attached to it for a number of personal reasons. It’s all wrapped up”.
Anderson is noted for the fact that he regularly uses the same actors in his films, particularly the recently-retired Daniel Day-Lewis and the late, great Philip Seymour-Hofmann. He would also like to work again with Joaquin Phoenix.
“I’m very anxious to work with Joaquin again,” Anderson said. “There’s a disproportionate amount of talent in the acting department and a lack of material that rises to their ability”. Anderson cast Phoenix in the leading role in his adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice, where he once again collaborated with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, who provided the score.
Anderson said of Daniel Day-Lewis’ retirement, “We can all get together and hope he’ll come back. Wouldn’t it be great? When Phantom Thread came out, I was asked about it a lot, and I feel the same way now that I did then. Yes, I’m greedy like everybody else. I want more Daniel Day-Lewis performances. But I also think he’s given us more than enough, and we should stop being so greedy. He’s the king”. We would indeed be lucky to see Day-Lewis return to the screen after he retired following 2019’s Phantom Thread.
