Paul Thomas Anderson propels Bradley Cooper and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son into the 70s

After Inherent Vice (2014), with Joaquin Phoenix, and Phantom Thread (2017), with Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Thomas Anderson promises an exciting new cinematic adventure. His next film, Licorice Pizza, named after a chain of vinyl record shops, is a reference for teenagers who grew up in California in the 70s. It is in the atmosphere of this blessed era that the first images of the film immediately plunge us.

 

David Bowie’s Life on Mars (1971)  gives rhythm to the trailer with the vintage grain and warm colors of the film. In the San Fernando Valley –  dear to the director –  we discover the first love of a very young actor who dreams of becoming a filmmaker. A story that is reminiscent of that of Paul Thomas Anderson at the same age. This character with an autobiographical dimension is embodied on screen by the young Cooper Hoffman, the son of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in 2014, a great friend of the filmmaker with whom he had collaborated on one of his first films Magnolia (1999).

 

His electrifying stagings transport, as always, the viewer to a specific era with a strong aesthetic. This time,  the 70’s atmosphere bathed in the Californian sun succeeds the London of the 50’s Phantom Thread which narrated the love affairs of a tortured couturier. The cast of the film is just as prestigious as those of Paul Thomas Anderson’s other feature films. The 18-year-old Cooper Hoffman will be accompanied on screen by Bradley Cooper, Ben Safdie, Tom Waits, Sean Penn but also by musician Alana Haim, playing in the band of the same name. 

 

Licorice Pizza (2022)  by Paul Thomas Anderson, in theaters on January 5, 2022 in France.