Boogie Nights (1996) is an epic and electrifying drama starring Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams, a naive and charismatic Los Angeles-based teenager who becomes immersed in the burgeoning pornography industry circa 1977. Discovered by adult filmmaker Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) working in a nightclub kitchen, Eddie's good looks and ample manhood quickly propel him to stardom within the world of adult entertainment.
Absconding from his parents in order to inhabit Horner's San Fernando Valley mansion, Adams adopts the moniker "Dirk Diggler" and quickly gains widespread acclaim for his work, while amassing unprecedented wealth and accouterments. Over time, however, Dirk and fellow porn star Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) develop an increasingly dire co-dependence on cocaine—an addiction that impedes Dirk's ability to perform on camera. Experiencing increasingly violent mood swings and threatened by Horner's new stable of up-and-coming performers, he finds himself at a fateful crossroads—uncertain if he is prepared to face the world-at-large without the support of his trusted benefactor.
Written and directed by a young Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood, Phantom Thread), Boogie Nights is an extraordinary mosaic of characterizations and individual enterprises. The film benefits enormously from an ensemble that features Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman portraying various denizens of the pornography world with distinctiveness and charm. With a narrative that carefully balances Diggler's rise-and-fall with the often heart-rending affairs of these disparate supporting characters, Anderson has crafted a stirring human saga punctuated with high drama, well-integrated humor and bold, often outlandish turns of fate.
Watch the trailer: