Licorice Pizza and Love in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Films

If we look at Paul Thomas Anderson’s filmography, his romantic storylines are full of red flags, inappropriateness, obsession, and an overriding sense of uneasiness. And as toxic as some of these couplings may be, they can also feel functional in their own weird way. In reality, Anderson’s movies suggest, it might not always be simple to separate the love from the messy person who comes with it.