“Licorice Pizza,” a coming-of-age film set in the 1970’s and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, is now playing in theaters across the nation. The film stars Alana Haim in her film debut alongside Cooper Hoffman, and boasts an impressive supporting cast, with members such as Bradley Cooper, Maya Rudolph, Sean Penn and many others.
“Licorice Pizza” follows the story of Alana Kane, portrayed by Haim, a photographer’s assistant whose life becomes inexplicably intertwined with Gary Valentine, a young actor portrayed by Hoffman. The film really makes the audience feel as if they are a part of the adventure, experiencing both the joys and troubles of youth, friendship and love.
Haim explained that for the cast members, it was a very immersive experience that made it possible to truly capture the magic and nostalgia of that time, in addition to the whole movie being shot on 35mm film.
“We basically lived in the 70’s all the time. I hated leaving set, because we never had any sort of technology on set, like no one had their phones or anything like that. It was all very much like we were living in that time,” explained Haim.
She added that the immersive experience of shooting in addition to doing her own hair and makeup helped her capture the character of Alana Kane.
“I would wake up every morning at 5 a.m. and do my hair and makeup, and I’ve said this before, but I’m really not good at either. My favorite makeup look that I did was when I went to the agent wearing that red dress, and I thought that I looked incredible that day, but when I saw it in the movie I was like, I look like a clown. I mean, if I was actually Alana Kane, she would have actually woken up super early too,” said Haim.
While this is Haim’s film debut, this isn’t the first time she has worked with Anderson as a director. Known for her Grammy award-winning band HAIM in which she performs with her two sisters, Haim described Anderson as a close family friend and noted that he has directed music videos for her band before. Ultimately, she described the experience of starring in “Licorice Pizza” as a wonderfully crazy acting debut.
“Everyone that was working on the film was really supportive of me, and it was just this crazy experience that I had. When people are like, ‘Yeah, I saw the movie,’ it’s like, you saw it? Because for the longest time, it kind of felt like this weird family vacation movie that we all kind of made but I never really thought anyone was gonna see,” Haim said.
The film feels utterly relatable, especially for young adults, who are still in the process of finding themselves while navigating new adult experiences and relationships. Kane and Valentine hop from job to job, getting themselves in and out of trouble and navigating feelings of friendship and romance, portraying the exciting but often confusing reality for many young adults and making “Licorice Pizza” a must-see.
