ten years already?

when, give or take, ten years ago i was presented with (ahem) a copy of the film Boogie Nights, i was little more than mildly curious about it. a film about the 'adult entertainment industry', starring a number of (then) unknowns and being led by a boy-band reject and Burt Reynolds, once again attempting to restart his career.





i started to watch it on a bored, lazy Sunday afternoon, having nothing better to do. it was approximatley 40 - 50 minutes in that i clocked that what i was watching was nothing short of an important piece of cinema; something not far short of being declared a masterpiece. Boogie Nights, now celebrating 10 years of age this year, is one of, if not the, most important works of art to be produced in the last decade of the 20th Century.

why such high praise? a wide range of reasons, each difficult to qualify but all combined to give the answer, i suppose.

up front, the non-exploitative, non-cheap and non-something which it is not presentation of the business each of the characters is involved with. The adult entertainment industry is neither glorified or vilified through the film, it is presented as it is, with an appropriate level of respect and objectivity.






another masterstroke is the casting. Mark Wahlberg as the lead actor in a 3 hour epic? the then relatively unknown John C Reilly and William H Macy in support? Heather who? Julianne who? Who or what is a Don Cheadle? and Burt Reynolds in another "comeback film?

it must have been a pretty hard sell to get some sort of budget to have that crowd in a film, and rumours abound about Burt Reynolds being somewhat reluctant to be in the film anyway, trying to get out of it as soon as he was in it. The performances are flawless, with each and every one delivering some of their finest work. Underlining the folly and flaws with how Oscars work, only Burt got nominated, and i still don't understand how he did not win.





following on from the fine performances is, perhaps obviously, the characterisations. it is astonishing how such a vast range of characters are developed, evolved and presented in this film, even allowing for the fact that the director had some three hours to do it in. each and every character arc is developed in full, with each tale being given the perfect, satisfactory conclusion.

if, for whatever reason, you have never seen Boogie Nights, then take my word for it and see it. in the mean time, i can't believe that ten years have gone by, and it has been ten years without a film to challenge the status of this one.

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!