One of the advantages for me during the COVID pandemic is, since I wasn’t going out to the movies as much as I used to, I could spend more time watching movies at home that I hadn’t seen in theaters or even just before the pandemic in general. That meant looking up a lot of directors whose work I didn’t have a lot of experience with, and I don’t think I saw more from any single director than I did for the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. I used to think his work was a lot more daunting than it actually was, and if this guy was going to make a movie where the two leads were played by one of the singers from Haim and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son, neither of whom had that sort of acting experience before, then he would probably make something sweet.
Sure, there would probably also be a lot of great music and an appearance by John C. Reilly, but I have no problem with either of those.
It’s school picture day for Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), and as he waits in line, he strikes up a conversation with Alana Kane (Alana Haim), a twentysomething employee for the photography company. Gary is fairly fearless, a successful if not famous actor at his age who is well-off financially and always looking for a new way to make some money. Alana is a directionless young woman ten years older than Gary who, for reasons even she probably can’t articulate, does agree to meet him for dinner that is, she is emphatically asserting, not a date. Gary, though he later tells his kid brother he has just met his future wife, agrees, and the two strike up a friendship.
Or do they? Arguably, that’s what this movie is as Alana and Gary both basically try to figure out their own lives and what they mean to each other. Alana is argumentative with just about everyone except her own family (played by Haim’s own parents and sisters) while Gary can’t stop hustling for, well, whatever he’s looking for. Neither seems to react well when the other appears to be starting a relationship with someone closer to their own age, but at the same time, they never seem to be trying to be romantic with each other. And at various moments, they each react strongly to seeing the other in some kind of trouble. The age thing, when it does come up, seems more connected to behavior than anything else. Alana is concerned over her own directionless life, looking to figure out who she is and what she wants, and while Gary is financially successful, he’s still an immature teenager.
Now, this is a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, so there’s a lot of good period detail on display here. Much of his cast here are not exactly huge stars, the exceptions being Sean Penn (playing a William Holden stand-in famous actor) and a scene-stealing Bradley Cooper (as actual movie producer Jon Peters). Fortunately, both Hoffman and Haim are up to the task of carrying the film. This is the first film for both of them, but you might not know that to watch their ease on screen. Factor in as well Anderson’s attention to period detail, and you have a sweet story about two people trying to find their way together. True, it might have helped if I knew more about that time and place–apparently, the title refers to a famous record store from that area that I don’t think they ever really visit–but cultural moments aside, including some ugly racist stuff involving a man with a pair of Japanese wives, it is still a somewhat timeless story. These are relatable characters who just happen to be living through the early 70s.
In fact, the movie works better as a character study. The “plot,” such as it is, is more episodic. Gary’s acting career is more or less forgotten early on, and Alana’s own attempts to become an actress don’t amount to much. It’s more about how these two see themselves and each other as both try to figure out what they really want out of life. Gary’s smugness and Alana’s combativeness will cause them both problems, but they do both seem to be there for each other as friends and business partners as much as anything else. And yes, there’s a great soundtrack and a John C. Reilly cameo. I mean, it’s Paul Thomas Anderson, and you gotta expect those sorts of things.
Grade: A-
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