if you want to have a staring contest with me, you will lose. 

this felt like a long-ass, weirdly soothing yet uncomfortable staring contest. the looks that are exchanged between alma and reynolds are what make this film and those looks acted like a metaphorical sword fight for power in some way. paul thomas anderson even said (jokingly, kind of) that the loving and affectionate way that his wife looked at him while he was sick one night was how he got the idea for this movie - and i thought about that A LOT. you can see that traslated so well on screen through the writing and the performances. 

 in conclusion, this was wonderful. pta’s filmmaking is masterful and i doubt he will ever produce a piece of art that might disappoint me. also the music was bangin