Welcome to a new column here at The Movie Mensch, something we affectionately call The Perfect Scene. Starting off this look at these impeccable moments that are orchestrated by a priceless collaboration of directors, cinematographers, editors, performers, production designers, and music is a scene from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.
The film landed in 1997 and was universally hailed as a cinematic announcement of a visual storytelling talent. It’s rather a simple story, really. Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) is a San Fernando Valley kid with Hollywood spotlights for eyes and a “talent” that contributes mightily to his dreams coming true. That is before drugs and the 80s ruin everything.
It’s the late ‘70s and porn is still shot on film and those who make it, here Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds in a role that helped define a legacy that was already firmly established), take the art quite seriously. He has a production “family,” that’s what Anderson delightfully exposes us to, what with the patriarch, Jack, the matriarch, the motherly Amber Waves (Julianne Moore)—who is always by Jack’s side and stars in most of his films, and a flock of lost souls who could be seen as their kids. That would be the in front of the camera talent and the below-the-line magic makers (that’s how genuinely these folks take their jobs) and hangers-on. Among them is a cast of characters brought to life by John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Wallace, and many others.
There are countless scenes in Boogie Nights that could be considered “perfect.” The one selected for this new column’s kick-off involves players in our drama that inhabited a previous scene moments earlier that was right up there on the consideration charts from this flick. Sister Christian, anyone? But the one selected features the explosive conclusion that the first scene essentially teases.
The guys (Reilly’s Reed Rothchild and Wahlberg’s Diggler) are joined by Jane’s Todd Parker at a drug dealer’s abode (Alfred Molina’s Rahad Jackson). All are jacked out of their collective minds and to add layers to the tension, one of Jackson’s “helpers,” for lack of a better term, is dropping lit firecrackers on the floor that randomly go off while Molina is rocking out to Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl.
It is clear that their business is done. It’s also obvious that Jackson would like his visitors to stay and party some more, but as time ticks by and firecrackers emit their “bang” after “bang,” Rothchild and Diggler have one eye on the host and another on the door. Parker, on the other hand, has unfinished business that is news to his two pals.
Anderson illustrates his supreme command of the medium with this scene, above all others in his masterpiece. Check out how he works the camera. After having moments with practically everyone in the room, he stalls with an elongated take on Wahlberg. All we need to sense from this entire scene, emotively, arises from the actor. He is drugged and that high is adding to his sense that there is something about this landscape that is not safe. We as humans have that innate fight or flight cue embedded inside every single piece of our DNA. Diggler’s alarm is going off and he doesn’t quite know how to handle it.
Then, making matters worse is Parker. On a dime Jane is able to make this entire scene about him because after he does what he does, lives will never be the same.
Love how Anderson allows Jessie’s Girl to play out and the next track on Jackson’s party mix is Lena’s 99 Red Balloons. As our violence exponentially explodes, Diggler and Rothchild try to avoid piercing shotgun shells and race for that door they had their eye on previously. Immediately, Anderson switches from his immersive pop music accompaniment to Michael Penn’s score that brilliantly reflects the aural aesthetic required in such a moment. And yes, this is the Michael Penn who gave us the hit song No Myth in 1989 and is the brother of Sean Penn.
Filmmaking is firmly a director’s medium and that is never truer than on Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Auteurs are all about choices made and how those come to be brilliant in the editing room. My point … as Wahlberg’s Diggler gets to his car, he innocently falls back a few paces, distracted from a shotgun shot from Jackson that hit too close for comfort. Our hearts race. As if the pressure wasn’t enough as it was built through this scene, now Diggler has to get up and catch up to a rolling away vehicle with a madman firing a shotgun repeatedly as they make their getaway.
I often wonder if a Boogie Nights would get made today, for several reasons. Given this particular scene, those long takes where Anderson leaves his camera on a single subject and lets what feels like ions go by to add emotive weight to a scene aren’t utilized as much anymore in this quick cut culture. Thank goodness it did get made as it is not only one of my personal favorite films of all-time, it is a hallmark moment for moviemaking that will be studied for generations to come.
What other scenes do I have in mind that are “perfect?” Stay tuned …