March 2022
Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) was a 15-year old child actor, self-assured and confident, mature for his age. Alana Kane (Alana Haim) was a 25-year old photographer's assistant, who saw herself working the same job in the next five years. It was picture day at Gary's high school and he saw pretty Alana working and was immediately smitten. The two strike it off very well and become friends, but Alana made it very clear that she was not his girlfriend.
Alana was Gary's chaperone on his press trip to New York with actress Lucy Doolittle (Christine Ebersole). She helped him with his waterbed business, driving the truck when he delivered a bed to Jon Peters (Bradley Cooper). Alana tried her luck to be an actress, almost getting cast in a film with movie star Jack Holden (Sean Penn); and also became a political campaign volunteer for mayoralty candidate Joel Wachs (Bernie Safdie).
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson supposedly wrote the role of Alana specifically for Alana Kane, for whom he had directed music videos. Despite being her first feature film, Kane was a very natural actress, not self-conscious at all. Even if she was the older of the pair, it was Alana who did more coming of age than Gary. Her sisters and her parents actually played her family in the film, and they were quite good, especially the dad.
18 year old Cooper Hoffman is the son of the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. That pedigree had rubbed on this very natural actor who showed no fear or hesitation in his film debut in a challenging role. Gary was a boy way more mature than his biological age, both physically and mentally (it would seem). Hoffman was able to keep a degree of childishness in his Gary despite looking and behaving older than Alana.
Anderson really captured that vibrant 70s vibe in his images as he followed Gary though all his business ideas. His script had so many witty exchanges, between Gary and Alana for sure, but Bradley Cooper stole the show in his lengthy cameo as a foolish lothario. It was charming and feel-good, true. Yet underlying all of that was the uncomfortable romance blossoming between a 25-year old woman and a 15 year-old boy. I just cannot condone it. 6/10.
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