Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

A psychologically troubled novelty supplier is nudged towards a romance with an English woman, all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress salesman, and purchasing stunning amounts of pudding. (IMDb)

Delightfully bizarre-within-the-mundane (our lead has seven sisters and sells novelty plungers in a big storage locker) and artfully and purposefully constructed (the loud and constant soundtrack, sudden sounds, tracking shots, zooms all envelope us in Barry’s anxiety; the colour flares are a cool touch too). It’s a well-acted character study of a man just trying to cope in this overwhelming world, and the solace and redemption he finds strike all the right chords after so much dissonance.

8.5/10 (Amazing)