Licorice Pizza

Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza has two main characters; Gary, played by Cooper Hoffman, and Alana, played by Alana Haim.  It's clear to me that Gary is someone that Anderson relates to, maybe even to the point of being auto-biographical.  Alana, on the other hand, is someone that Anderson deeply admires and respects, and probably is based on someone he's fallen in love with.  Anderson did something with these two characters that is rare in film, he fully realizes each of them, which results in the audience developing an attachment to them, individually, and as a couple.  On the surface, the pairing in Licorice Pizza is diametrically opposed to the sets of characters in Anderson's other films; in Phantom Thread an abusive artist is nursed from the precipice of death by his muse, who (spoiler alert) is the one who has been methodically poisoning him.  In There Will Be Blood, an ambitious oil tycoon spars with the local reverend, in a relationship that is as toxic and maddening as has ever been depicted on film.  While the characters in Licorice Pizza share nothing in common with those from Anderson's earlier films, there is a theme that applies to each, these characters wouldn't be the same without each other.  While some might argue that good pairings in movies are commonplace, I would argue that chemistry between actors isn't the same thing as Anderson's depiction of the phenomena that occurs when two individuals become something completely different when they're together.  Aside from being an excellent character study, Licorice Pizza is also an entertaining romp through the streets of Southern California in the early 1970s, with an energy and style that I found reminiscent of Almost Famous.  And with that comparison, I wonder if directors are drawn to to their own story, as it somehow provides a key to understanding their other work.  On a side note, I learned while writing this review that Cooper Hoffman is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.  The elder Hoffman was a frequent collaborator with Anderson, and it's great to see that his son has carried on the family trade.