(Credits: Far Out / Raph Pour-Hashemi)
Sun 14 December 2025 0:30, UK
No matter who you ask about the best movie they’ve ever seen, you’re going to get different answers each time.
You also can’t watch every goddamn film in existence, so your pick is obviously going to be limited to what you’ve actually seen. With that being said, it’s a topic that will always inspire fierce debate, and you’ve just got to let people have their favourite film, no matter what it is.
In fact, you should probably remember what someone’s favourite movie is, because it’s a significant representation of someone’s inner world, and it can say a lot about them. I mean, sometimes a movie can come to feel like a part of someone’s DNA, and you should treat it as part of their very being.
That’s why Bill Nighy was so touched when his About Time wrap gift from Domhnall Gleeson was something to do with his all-time favourite film. The good thing about being a movie lover who works in Hollywood is surely your proximity to the things you love, because Nighy was lucky enough to wind up with a facsimile of the original script to the movie that he holds closer to his heart than any other – Punch Drunk Love.
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film came as a surprise to many because the filmmaker made a rather unconventional casting decision in the form of Adam Sandler, who has never exactly been the height of cinematic sophistication. Known for low-tier comedies, he seemed like a one-trick pony, but Anderson saw something in him that no one else did.
Casting him in his first serious role, Sandler impressed everyone by delivering a nuanced performance as the lonely, socially anxious Barry, who falls for one of his sisters’ co-workers, played by Emily Watson. It’s a rather absurdist take on the romantic comedy, although it’s a hopeful one in spite of the challenges that Barry faces.
The film helped to bolster Sandler’s acting career, and while he has only taken on more serious roles every so often, like Uncut Gems, it was Punch Drunk Love that proved he was so much more than Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore.
Nighy adores the film, so he was pretty made-up to be given such a special gift by Gleeson. “One of my favourite films is Punch Drunk Love, and he somewhere found Paul Thomas Anderson, or it’s at least somebody very close to the production, their script – a facsimile of their original script – with all the typos in and kind of annotated. It was a beautiful present because Punch Drunk Love is a film that I… I don’t like any film more than I like Punch Drunk Love,” he told GQ.
That’s a pretty fucking bold statement to make, but Nighy stands by it being one of the greatest pieces of cinema he has ever had the joy of watching. It’s a brilliant film, though, so you can hardly argue with it being his favourite.
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