To say that Paul Thomas Anderson's marvelous coming-of-age tone poem, "Licorice Pizza" made me nostalgic is a huge understatement. Since I watched it a couple of weekends ago in a local art house theater here in my adopted home town of Tulsa, OK I have been thinking about my teenage years. A lot.
Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact I am about to turn sixty. Yikes.
Full disclosure. I grew up in almost exactly the region of Los Angeles in which the film is set. At almost exactly the same time. Watching "Licorice Pizza" was a bit like being teleported back in time, and what a time it was. LA of the 1970s was an amazing place, where the film industry was re-inventing itself, bands like Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan were recording some of the greatest Album-Oriented-Rock ever committed to analog tape, and fashion. Well, fashion left something to be desired.
Anderson, as he has done in all of his films, positively nails this vibe. In "Boogie Nights" his visual style and precise exploration of character, and the human condition exploded onto the silver screen. And made Mark Wahlberg a star. That and his his prosthetic...well. Let's keep it PG here.
The film-maker has matured, and it shows in "Licorice Pizza". In "Boogie Nights" and even "Inherent Vice" he relied on the gimmick of the LA porn industry and the extraordinary story-making of Thomas Pynchon, respectively as platforms for his unique filmic 'voice'. "Licorice Pizza", by contrast, lays it all on the line, as the story is unknown and the two actors who play the main characters -- a la Wes Anderson's equally excellent "Moonrise Kingdom" -- were unknown prior to this film. So, it is all up to Anderson and his team of actors, DP, musical scorer, etc. to pull off what "Licorice Pizza" so remarkably pulls off.
Indie pop darling Alana Haim plays a twenty something lass with whom our main male character, a few years younger, becomes infatuated. The story of how that teenage angst-laden crush evolves to an almost adult Love is something to be seen. And heard.
We pause for a message from our Radiohead-heads. Ha ha.
Anderson and Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood have collaborated a couple times and "Licorice" is no exception. However, Anderson has an interesting approach to music in his films, in that he doesn't just have someone score the entire film, he uses a pastiche of original music and period songs -- hearing Bowie's wonderful "Life on Mars" really took me back, by the way -- so it is sometimes hard to tell where songs end and Greenwood begins.
Again, for those who know, and love Radiohead, ha ha.
"Licorice", however, is all about the story, and the setting. The earnest push and pull of young love (not to be too cliched) is so beautifully rendered here, it is almost possible to miss the 1970s era San Fernando Valley sets that provide the background for said tale of love, loss, and love again. Anderson's camera follows our two young lovers from ranch style home to retail storefront to the iconic Hollywood Palladium in what feels like a single take. Not dissimilar to the single take opening of "Boogie Nights" with Rollergirl skating around the dance floor.
But I digress. "Licorice Pizza" is great film-making, and great acting. If Anderson doesn't finally win a Best Director Oscar, it will be a shame. But we know how good he is, so perhaps it doesn't matter,
