BOOGIE NIGHTS – THE BIRTH OF A MASTERPIECE

John Rodolfo Franzoni
Edited by: Marco Aurélio Lucchetti

Sometimes, among so many highly anticipated blockbusters and others that become critical successes, one film manages to stand out and surprise unsuspecting viewers, resulting in a work that, in addition to being well-received by usually antagonistic groups, stands out for its originality of conception and boldness in its approach. This is the case with... Boogie Nights, This is the second film by Paul Thomas Anderson, who was twenty-seven years old when he made it.
Boogie Nights It premiered in 1997, surrounded by attention, in a year that seemed to be the exclusive territory of the phenomenon starring James Cameron and his Titanic.
Paul Thomas Anderson was coming off a modest and not very well-received film, Risky Move (Hard Eight, 1996), which in Brazil was released directly to video and, nowadays, few remember it as marking the filmmaker's debut.
The astonishment did not stem from the fact that there was in Boogie Nights a bold and honest X-ray of American pornographic cinema, amidst boiling from the 1970s; but rather, because a director with little experience reveals such a refined mastery of cinematic language, an impressive use of the camera – which, among other formidable shots, follows a young woman until she dives into a pool during a party – and a sense of rhythm that never falters throughout its two and a half hours of projection.

Here is a film that deserves a pedestal for its intrinsic qualities alone, were it not for a contribution that, more than twenty-five years later, became evident in Anderson's subsequent productions: his rejection of the puritanism prevalent in Hollywood cinematography; and the more than welcome notion that cinema is also visited by an adult audience, deserving of having their intelligence respected…
Some even greeted Anderson as “"the new Robert Altman"”. And, without a doubt, the honor is well-deserved. The now deceased creator of Nashville (idem, 1975) and Short Cuts – Scenes from Life (Short Cuts, Anderson (1993) gained fame for his characteristic of populating his plots with dozens of characters and a camera that, even when loose, took the precaution of concentrating on a specific environment. However, what Anderson seems to have incorporated from Altman's cinema was the naturalistic and visceral style, in which nothing is thrown onto the screen with the intention of embellishing or shocking. On the contrary, the concern with realism is latent. And, if there are those who went to see... Boogie Nights Expecting explicit sex, viewers were inevitably surprised and disappointed to find that it is absent from the narrative. In fact, there is an extraordinary power of suggestion, in which numerous simulations of the sexual act are portrayed with impact and never eroticized. This is not about advocating the elimination of any explicit act, but only about recognizing the ability of a newcomer to explore areas so strongly condemned by prevailing moralism.

Nina Hartley (stage name of Marie Louise Hartman), a veteran actress in pornographic films and videos, playing an unfaithful wife in a scene from... Boogie Nights.

The film's daring sexuality was the selling point when it began to garner enthusiastic praise from American critics. But, thankfully, no one was so reckless as to reduce it to mere scandal. What emerged was a mature work, investigating human beings corroded by the illusion offered by a colorful decade, a decade in which discos symbolized a kind of temple for those aspiring to prominence; a decade in which the flag of free sex had been planted, and the ghost of [a specific political movement/situation] was emerging. AIDS to bring it down; and, finally, a decade in which the pornographic production of the time offered its services as an escape valve for those excluded from that whole party, not to mention that the directors could dare with more or less elaborate plots, since the fast-forward button feature of VCRs did not yet exist.

Annette Haven, one of the icons of American pornographic cinema in the 1970s.

To situate us in this universe, which, by today's standards of exacerbated moralism, sounds inconceivable, the screenplay (written by Anderson himself) focuses on Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a lost teenager who decorates the walls of his room with posters of stars Bruce Lee and Farrah Fawcett.
Despised by his parents, Eddie earns a few bucks washing dishes at one of Los Angeles' most popular nightclubs, the titular Boogie Nights. He believes everyone is blessed with something special. Therefore, he also believes his impressive penis is what sets him apart from mediocrity. So, he offers it as a source of extra income. The price varies depending on the client's request (they might watch him masturbate or perform fellatio).

Mark Wahlberg, playing Eddie Adams, in a scene from Boogie Nights.

As soon as Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a director of pornographic films who dreams of making a film respectable to the genre's detractors, meets the boy, he has no doubts: he decides that he will be a porn star. This is the protagonist's passport to a life of revelry and bohemianism, which the 1970s seemed to have established, when he is welcomed by his mentor's inseparable team (in reality, the people on this team are a kind of family, who, during business hours, have to...). to get laid (for the cameras). And Eddie, who adopts the stage name Dirk Diggler, effectively becomes a star of pornographic films, being welcomed with all the perks, including guaranteed entry to the Studio 54 nightclub (founded in 1977 by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, it was one of the most famous nightclubs in New York City and a mecca for celebrities of culture and the arts in the era). Disk. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Stories of hedonism and excess at the height of Studio 54 are legion. And, in its brief existence (1977-1986), Studio 54 defined an era of glamour, "Libertinism, nightclub dancing and wild partying, with a guest list that included some of the most famous people in the world at the time."”.), category prizes, cash, and a magnificent convertible.

Actress and singer Liza Minnelli, social activist Bianca Jagger (born Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías), visual artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol (Andrew Warhola Jr., 1928-1987), and fashion designer Roy Haslton Frowick (1932-1990), in a photo taken at one of the parties at the legendary Studio 54.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Anderson's direction is that she never seems to want to shine or make us swallow how proud we can be of our meager notions about other alternatives for existence.
The director contemplates the year 1977, in which the film's story begins, with all the symbols that characterized it. And, until a little over the first half of the film, the tone is effusive, colorful, very much in keeping with the spirit of its characters. However, as 1980 progresses, it becomes clear that we are facing a serious film, masterfully revealing that if there was a collective atmosphere of plenitude in the decade that was ending, it was because everyone paid the price demanded, but unaware of how exorbitant it could be: the unconditional adherence to illusion. Sex can be incessant; money, constant; and drugs, the guarantee of a unique ecstasy. However, when humanity intervenes and a certain era no longer matches its aspirations and posture, the sacrificed maturity becomes an ordeal. Considering how somber the narrative becomes as the decades pass, the conclusion could not be different. After leaving the group that brought him fame, Eddie is quickly consumed by cocaine, becomes a cheap male prostitute, and attempts some rather unintelligent scams in the company of his equally decadent colleagues.
Mark Wahlberg, emerging from a discredited career of rapper And as a model, he displayed a visceral talent here, both in the moments when his character shows himself to be a crybaby and in those when he is forced to acknowledge that he is at rock bottom. But he would only reprise this moment of brilliance in the singular. Huckabees – Life Is a Comedy (I Love Huckabees, 2004), since he always made appearances in commercial films that only ended up exposing his limitations.
And what about Burt Reynolds?
Due to his performance in Boogie Nights, He signaled a sort of return to stardom after years of decline that peaked when he played the politician covered in Vaseline in... Striptease (idem, 1996), starring Demi Moore. It was nominated for Oscar He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He lost to Robin Williams. He continued in obscurity. He passed away in 2018, at the age of eighty-two, owing his greatest moment as an actor to Paul Thomas Anderson.

Burt Reynolds, in Boogie Nights.

Each passage of Boogie Nights It seems to have been crafted to appeal to discerning eyes of cinematic discernment. Anderson, with the wisdom of a veteran, directs scenes that leap from tender to tense. His subsequent forays as a filmmaker do not disprove this thesis: Magnolia (Magnolia, 1999) is a compendium of breathtaking passages, in which a restless camera seeks to reach the core of the characters, to the point of exhausting the viewer with such mastery; and Black Blood (There Will Be Blood, (2007), is perhaps the film that, in the first decade of the 21st century, best offered a collection of elaborate and anthological shots to paint a treatise on unbridled ambition. That hurried camera movement during the explosion of a refinery is a moment of unbeatable grandeur; and mind you, the focus is on Daniel Day-Lewis, certainly one of the greatest living actors.

And it also deserves applause how well Anderson's script and direction develop the characters, in such a complete, truthful, and captivating way. The filmmaker chooses protagonists. However, he doesn't diminish the importance of the characters with less screen time. The saga of Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler is as engaging as the developments involving Buck Swope (Don Cheadle), a porn actor pursuing his dream of owning a stereo store; and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore, magnificent), an actress who serves as a maternal figure to the characters in the film and who seems unaware of the price she's paid for the life she's chosen.

In Boogie Nights, Julianne Moore played Amber Waves, a porn actress who tries to get custody of her son through the courts.

All that's left to talk about is the blonde Heather Graham, who, in the film, played an actress who never takes off her skates. Can anyone quickly recall another significant moment of hers in cinema?

Heather Graham, as Brandy, the girl on roller skates, in Boogie Nights.

Returning to the discussion regarding the relevance of a film, even when released during a time of million-dollar hits and other such nonsense, Oscar, Boogie Nights Today it stands as the greatest film of the year in which it premiered.

Paul Thomas Anderson, in a photo taken at the time he was filming. Boogie Nights.

It cannot be predicted that Paul Thomas Anderson, who occasionally signs as PT Anderson and delivered a piece of nonsense of the caliber of Drunk with Love (Punch-Drunk Love, 2002), remain fully engaged in his art. But a film like Boogie Nights It is a testament to enduring relevance. He bequeathed to us here a film that is inspiring in its energy, trusting in his audience's willingness to embrace vast and meticulous works, presented with a most compelling veneer.
In conclusion: with Boogie Nights, Anderson proves that, even though it's difficult to envision a happy future for characters as misfit as those in the film, setbacks may not rehabilitate us, but at least they can yield interesting and cathartic experiences.

Illustration made for a poster of Boogie Nights.

 Boogie Nights – Pleasure Without Limits (Boogie Nights, United States, 1997, 156')
Ddirection: Paul Thomas Anderson
Rscript: Paul Thomas Anderson
Fphotography: Robert Elswit
MAssembly: Dylan Tichnor
Etissue: Mark Wahlberg (Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler), Burt Reynolds (Jack Horner), Julianne Moore (Amber Waves/Maggie), Don Cheadle (Buck Swope), John C. Reilly (Reed Rothchild), William H. Macy (Little Bill), Heather Graham (Roller Girl/Brandy), Nina Hartley (Little Bill's wife), Luis Guzmán (Maurice T. Rodriguez), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Scotty J.), Philip Baker Hall (Floyd Gondolli), Thomas Jane (Todd Parker), Alfred Molina (Rahad Jackson), Joanna Gleason, Lawrence Hudd
CCuriosity: The judge presiding over Amber Waves' case was played by one of the stars of American pornographic films from the 1970s and 1980s: Veronica Hart (pseudonym of Jane Esther Hamilton), who worked in some classics of the genre, including... Woman in Love A Story of Madame Bovary (1978), Amanda by Night (1981), Pandora's Mirror (1981) and Roommates (1982).

João Rodolfo Franzoni is a journalist and professor.