Ranking The Films Of Paul Thomas Anderson From Worst To Best

A film about a group of pornographic film makers in the 1970s probably doesn't sound like highly engaging storytelling, but you couldn't be more wrong. Boogie Nights is like a Martin Scorsese film crossed with PTA's unique kind of character study. Mark Wahlberg stars in his breakout role as Dirk Diggler who gets taken under the wing of porno director Jack Horner (an Oscar nominated Burt Reynolds).

Beneath the exterior of the sex scenes and 70s glamour is a film about lost people who are desperate to be taken seriously and loved. That may sound a little dramatic but PTA is a master at layering his characters with regrets and fragilities that allow the audience to feel especially sorry for the people on screen.

One massive shame is how Burt Reynolds chose to distance himself from the film as he apparently hated both the experience of filming it and the final cut. Reynolds is a legend and gives one of his best performances here, as does a fearless Julianne Moore.

Boogie Nights is better than it has any right to be and in many ways has to be seen to be believed.