Here in Igby Goes Down, it was the ability to hand over all the characters between the start and the end of the opening credits and already get a feel for who these people are in character before any serious screen time unraveled. It started with a bang with every personality in front of our eyes in different situations, and then went back and forth from there on between our various personas and drew out all the aspects of their lives and conflicts. Kieran Culkin absolutely ruled and mastered the role of Igby, showing signs of an almost Holden personality from Catcher in the Rye. But he was not alone. Susan Sarandon gave a very comically terrific performance as his dying mother, but also managed a very sincere performance in the process when it came down to the hardcore drama.

Ryan Phillippe is almost unrecognizable in this film, as it can almost be learned that with the right script and direction, this lad can turn in an awesome acting execution. His part in the film is rather quiet and reserved, but Phillippe handles it all with a confidence and assurance level that seeing him in anything less than such in quality will raise a question mark of whether or not he comprehends his own talent.

Like Adaptation, Igby Goes Down does not conclude on an overly definite note, leaving the audience with an almost imaginative sense of what could follow next. This method can really sell terrifically if done properly, and for a story that had me at peak interest for just about the entire way through the ride, drawing one’s own conclusion is a treat. This is one of those ensemble productions where the filmmaker (Burr Steers) has paid attention to everyone on the roster, making the crucial argument from the very beginning that everybody matters no matter who you are; big or small, and that is where Igby makes one of its large achievements. It’s a lot of hidden talent scoring really impressively, and talent behind and in front of the screen that has the potential for accomplishing outstanding work in the future.

5. Punch-Drunk Love

I had just come out of Rules of Attraction when I at the last minute decided to catch the midnight show of this on opening night in limited release. And I include that because both films are unusual productions. They offer an angle of moviemaking that is not very every-day fair, but if you’re open to different styles of film they can be truly excellent works. Attraction was brutally honest about how some people live out their lives and the mindsets that many have, and it was that harsh reality that was brought to the screen fantastically well.

Punch-Drunk Love is an ultra-classy Paul Thomas Anderson romance. Despite running on somewhat of a romantic formula, there’s a differentiation apparent between this and other cliché-run stories where the climaxes have been drawn out prior to our sitting time. And that differentiation is that our writer/director (Anderson) understands how to create interesting and sort of offbeat characters and present it all in a rather unconventional format. This is probably one of the best (comedic) romances I’ve seen simply for the way Anderson has visually told this concept. It’s almost a romantic fable told in a fantasy foreground; it’s beautiful to look at, but there’s almost something surreal about it all and Anderson has pulled this off so genuinely.

I was somewhat fatigued after going through a really breathtaking experience that was Rules of Attraction, and Punch-Drunk Love’s visual motif of bright colors, flashy layers, solid cinematography, and the clever writing awakened me. It was a unique experience, for it was telling a story that really has been told before but in a fashion that really nobody has ever pulled off previously. It’s essentially a cliché premise told in an unconventional format. And it does so because we get invested into the characters’ lives and learn who they are. Emily Watson may be a little lacking in substance, but P.T. Anderson knows Adam Sandler’s personality to the penny in character. The movie is essentially Sandler’s opportunity to shine bright as the usually goofball comedian instead revealing an actual acting talent that has been for years hidden.

Anderson wrote the film for Sandler and it is part of that fact that made Punch-Drunk to be such a phenomenal success in its limited platform release over opening weekend. Folks wanted to see the real Adam Sandler without the stupid chaos intertwined. People also wanted to see Anderson tell the story to them, given the huge art-house success of his Boogie Nights and the sort of cult following of Hard Eight (if it can even be considered as such). Magnolia is also another treasured filmmaking piece of his that I believe to be his best ever, but it did not get the same restricted run at first, probably in part due to the presence of Tom Cruise being mainstream-based. Magnolia didn’t win amazing praise, as it was an intense drama aimed at those not looking for entertainment.

And when I say that, I mean toward those moviegoers who want to have a good time versus this production offering an amazing experience via the direction of the entire ensemble put together. To those who it is enjoyable to, it’s not for a "good old time," but because it is extremely well told and almost perfectly crafted.

Punch-Drunk Love is a similar film because it may not be entertaining to those looking for a fun story. It’s an unusual feature considering its filmmaking flair is only appreciated by so many. True Anderson fans are prone to adore this flick because it just leaks of his ultra-classy way of presenting concepts. The guy knows cinema and understands how to create a memorable fable via visually and the writing. There are moments to this day I cannot get out of my head for how classically fantasy-like it is in style. And for that, this movie really made me wake up to the possibilities of how to tell a done-before topic as if we haven’t seen it already. And for that, Paul Thomas Anderson gets another round of big kudos from my behalf because to this day, the man continues to amaze me with his talent of presenting stories where we care for just about everything.