Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”) is a man stuck in the past. Or at least he was. The filmmaker’s 30-year career has covered an eclectic mix of genre and setting. Still, his films share a common theme of exile from the present, lingering with the aesthetics and themes of an old soul. Anderson’s last contemporary film, “Punch-Drunk Love,” came out well over 20 years ago and has since been followed by five period pieces. Many have speculated on what drives Anderson’s reluctance to set a film in the present: Is he obsessed with the films and books of the past? Is he scared to give his characters an iPhone? Maybe the present is too ugly to film? For what it’s worth, I think that Anderson just hadn’t found the right story and has instead found himself wanting to explore rich and dive

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