The 11 Greatest Paul Thomas Anderson Scenes

While it was tempting to choose Philip Seymour Hoffman's cameo in "Hard Eight," I had to go for a two-hander between Philip Baker Hall and John C. Reilly, as their relationship forms the core of this gambling movie. Hall's veteran pro gambler Sydney takes down-on-his-luck drifter John (Reilly) under his wing, and their mentor-apprentice relationship faces many ups-and-downs during the film, some caused by cocktail waitress Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow) and some by fellow gambler Jimmy (Samuel L. Jackson). 

But their initial meeting, during which Sydney picks John up off the ground and buys him a coffee in a diner, lays the groundwork for the adventure to come. John naturally distrusts Sydney's altruistic offer to give him a small amount of money and to teach him how to turn it into a large amount; John warns Sydney that he knows "three types of karate." The contrast of the two actors' energies is what makes this so good. Hall is crisply calm and still, full of self-assurance as he gently dictates what is about to happen. Reilly is all wired nerves, attempting to play it cool while oozing desperation, and looks like he hasn't slept or showered for days. 

The witty, quick-fire dialogue, the excellent (in this case, jazzy) score, and the performances that establish these characters and their dynamic so quickly would go on to become Anderson's hallmarks.

Anderson found his magnum opus in the three hour epic "Magnolia," an interweaving series of stories featuring an enormous cast of characters. The zenith is the use of Aimee Mann's "Wise Up," during which isolated characters sing along to the lyrics. In a film about loneliness and a need for connection, this heartbreaking scene sees these broken, desperate people singing a song "together," unaware that they're all fleetingly united. This is not a Broadway-style musical number, and most of the actors do not have great singing voices, but that makes it all the more relatable. 

A highlight of the sequence is when the camera moves from Julianne Moore's Linda Partridge, alone in her rain-drenched car, to Cruise's Frank T.J. Mackey, alone in his — these two characters are unaware that they're connected by Jason Robard's Earl Partridge. Philip Seymour Hoffman's nurse Phil singing with Earl is another bittersweet moment; they are the only two characters who aren't physically alone during the montage, but Earl is so drowsy that they're still functionally disconnected. Perhaps the best line among Mann's perfect lyrics is "You're sure, there's a cure" — these seemingly helpless characters still have hope, and continue striving to find something they believe will fix everything.

Anderson takes the mentor-apprentice dynamic that he previously examined in "Hard Eight" and "Boogie Nights" and twists it in "There Will Be Blood," a tale about a bitter rivalry between a younger and older man that lasts for 20 years. Daniel Day-Lewis gives an Oscar-winning performance as Daniel Plainview, a man who only cares about making money through oil, no matter the cost to his fellow man — or even child. Paul Dano (whose performance should have been Oscar-winning) is the preacher who clashes with Plainview over the rights to drill on his family's land. 

Although the film starts in 1898 and feels like a Western, the climactic scene is set in a bowling alley, which feels more like a set from "Grease 2." The year is 1927 and Plainview has become a Howard Hughes-like figure, holed-up in his Hearst Castle-style mansion and alone with his thoughts. Eli visits to finally offer Plainview what he thinks he wants — the rights to Eli's property — but this turns into a game of rhetorical one-upmanship in which Day-Lewis explodes with a melodramatic meltdown of epic proportions. His indelible line, "I drink your milkshake!" has become iconic — and for good reason.

"Inherent Vice" is a '70s-set neo-noir, and could be Anderson's most impenetrable and divisive film. It has another one of Anderson's typically great ensembles — this one includes Katherine Waterston, Benicio del Toro, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Martin Short. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Doc, a private detective who shares several wildly funny scenes with Josh Brolin's Bigfoot, an LAPD detective who is Doc's opposite in every way. Doc is a long-haired hippie. Bigfoot has a '60s buzzcut. One of them lives firmly in the past, while the other is much more with the times. 

Two of the characters' funniest shared scenes involve food (a tool Anderson often uses to demonstrate a character's whims and foibles) and, while brief, certainly leave an impression. One is a wordless scene in a shared car, where Bigfoot eats a frozen banana as a horrified Doc looks on, with Phoenix doing some brilliant mugging. Brolin gagging on the banana for a split-second is particularly good.

In the second, they meet in a Japanese coffee shop, where Bigfoot keeps demanding "motto panukeiku" — or "more pancakes" — from a poor unseen chef while, once again, Doc watches in despair. Both of these brief vignettes let us into the depths of Bigfoot's obnoxious personality and reveal why everything about him rubs Doc the wrong way. For a while, "Inherent Vice" was Anderson's funniest film — but then he made the best comedy of the decade in 2017.

The climax of "Magnolia" is really where it wins or loses its audience. The narrator has teased us about coincidences and bizarre occurrences throughout the film, which culminates with a scene that, for some, pushes "Magnolia" into ridiculous and cloying melodrama. Whether you like it or not, though, you can't deny that it's an audacious go-for-broke moment from Anderson. 

When the first two frogs hit Jim's (John C. Reilly) car, the audience shares in the character's astonishment. There is a long pause while Jim tries to process what has happened, and then there's a thunderous roar. Thousands more frogs fall from the sky. 

At this point, "Magnolia" briefly turns into a horror film — a total bloodbath ensues as the frogs, some of which are still alive, hit the pavement. One of the best shots from the sequence is when the ambulance containing Linda (Julianne Moore) crashes and we get a slow-motion view of her arms being lifted by the sideways momentum. We see Jim help Donnie (William H. Macy), and Rose (Melinda Dillon) help her daughter, Claudia (Melora Walters); the moments of brief connection that appear throughout the film continue right until the end.

After much cajoling over the phone, Barry (Adam Sandler) reluctantly agrees to attend his sister's birthday party, which leads to one of the most awkward scenes in the full-body cringe that is "Punch Drunk Love." As soon as Barry arrives, all seven of his sisters start teasing him about an incident from decades before. In a conversation with his brother-in-law, he says, "Business is very food," not "good." After enduring some more passive-aggressive mumbling, Barry snaps and smashes some windows. 

This scene is a brilliant depiction of what it's like to have anxiety and feel like an outsider in your own family. You can only feel for Barry, seeing what he endured growing up and realizing how it made him into the adult he is. The contrast between Barry's sisters and Lena (Emily Watson) isn't subtle, either. "Punch Drunk Love" was Anderson's last Anderson with a contemporary setting — he seems to favor period projects. In a way, that's a shame, because Anderson has a great talent for depicting the modern-day curse of loneliness.