This movie almost gave me a panic attack and I don’t know how to rate it

As someone with crippling social anxiety, I felt every second of this movie and the ending was so satisfactory and relatable. You can be afraid of uncomfortable situations all the time until it involves a loved one, all fear goes out of the window and you find your strength.

[4.5/10] I’d been curious about Punch-Drunk Love since its release but wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it—and unfortunately, I didn’t. I could see parts of myself in the anxious, neurodivergent traits of Barry and Lena, but only in the most exhausting and uncomfortable ways. The characters frustrated me to no end—Barry, his sisters, Lena. None of them felt authentic, and it’s hard for me to enjoy a story when the people in it feel like they were written by someone who only understands them from one side. Their behaviors, alongside the often disjointed chaos (and the tiresome scammer subplot!), made the story feel grating rather than meaningful. A few surreal moments and pretty shots stood out, and the humor worked occasionally. But much of the narrative felt aimless. (The Hawaii trip, for instance.) Barry and Lena’s relationship is supposed to be the heart of the film, but it wasn't anything I could root for. Barry is continuously dishonest about his mental health and behavioral challenges, he seems totally unequipped to learn anything about himself, and even endangers and abandons Lena—yet she forgives it all with little hesitation. (She is clearly ~~toxic~~ flawed, too.) It’s hard to believe in their love story or imagine a happy future for them. This is a film that will appeal to a niche audience, but it’s not for me.

I saw this movie in the cinema, 22 years ago, and wasnt a big fan, but coming back to it after all thise years it blew me away, I think Sandler was really going against his usual type of film at the time, but I would argue he is the only actor that could have played this role and should have been nominated, absloutely love the score for this movie, captures the social anxiety of the scene, then changes into romantic music at other points, I could have put it traight back on to watch again, i feell like I have 22 years to catch up on with rewatching this movie now

>"I wanted to ask you something because you're a doctor... I don't like myself sometimes. Can you help me?" Paul Thomas Anderson has a way to edit a film to make me feel uncomfortable. I felt like I was in a weird dream while watching this. Adam Sandler does great for what he is supposed to do, but Philip Seymour Hoffman is eccentric and might be my favorite part.