Licorice Pizza

"This is one of the most anticipated movies of the 2022 season, with three Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Directing. 'Licorice Pizza' has won over critics and shows how Paul Thomas Anderson is a great filmmaker, especially in his role as director. Aesthetically speaking, the production shows the best of cinema. The soundtrack and cinematography are impeccable - even the peculiar construction of a road movie that doesn't take place on the road is quite intriguing. The casting direction is another extremely positive point, as well as the debut of actors Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Alana Haim (from the indie band Haim). However, the screenplay, written by Anderson, ends up leaving something to be desired when we have the naturalization of a relationship between a 15-year-old boy and an adult woman, who is ten years older than him. Although an explanation may be the time frame, it is extremely unpleasant this approach. Love can break barriers, there is the question of the story taking place in another era and so on, but romanticizing it is problematic. Another extremely complicated point are the xenophobic jokes with Japanese people. There is no more room for prejudiced anachronism in cinema. Leaving aside these problems, it is impossible not to recognize that Paul Thomas Anderson brought a freshness to romantic comedies. 'Licorice Pizza' would be even better if the issues mentioned were treated differently."