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Magnolia (1999)

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169 out of 226 people found the following comment useful :-
Breaking of the Cycle, 14. Januar 2003

Author: aerives (aerives@caltech.edu)

I spend my life analyzing patterns in DNA, and I believe I fell in love with Magnolia for the embedded patterns and well-placed logic that organizes this gorgeous superstructure of a movie. In the introduction the narrator recounts instances of eerie co-incidences. Throughout the main story, the narrator suggests to the viewer that there is more to reality than "just" co-incidences. The events we witness are not just random co-incidences because there is a logic behind them: sometimes it is the past echoing into the future; sometimes it is the echo of eternal archetypes, recreated by ever-present circumstances. When watching the movie, consider the young black kid's words in the opening line of his rap, "Presence - with a double ass meaning".

Coincident echoes reverberate throughout Magnolia. Featuring four separate "kid" stars, Stanley, Donnie, Jack aka Frank and Claudia, the movie absolutely resonates with the same story played across multiple octaves. The story is cyclical in nature with snapshots of different parts of the cycle captured in a single day. We have seen the same incorporation of the cycle-of-life theme in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie nights", in which the cyclic rise, fall and replacement of a pornstar echoes the same story found in the classic "All about Eve" (1950), which stars Bette Davis and chronicles the cyclical nature of a rising, scheming theater star. In the constant self-reference of P.T. Anderson's Magnolia, this theme is expressed by the elder gay barfly, "...just a spoke in the wheel....Things go round 'n round..." But Magnolia recounts the cycle and then transcends it as the four Buddhas-to-be reach their personal epiphanies and learn to break the numbing cycle of uncaring, un-sentient living.

Self-referentially, the movie tells us that showbiz, both the formally staged variety and our everyday masquerades, is an echo of real life; and real life is an echo of the past. Both the narrator, the characters Jimmy and Donnie all remind us "The book says 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'" And Jack's "Seek and Destroy" persona is all about attempting to eradicate the past. But the past is ever-present and very alive as it echoes throughout the movie. The falling frogs are echoed in the falling scubaman, both scooped up in freakish storms/accidents and dropped on a city full of people/burning trees. All these echoes are echoed by all the people and frogs physically falling everywhere in the movie. Are we constantly condemned to fall into the past?

The movie is clearly based on a super-symmetrical blueprint carried in P.T. Anderson's head. Consider the two main parallel stories: Jack/Claudia, respectively, are the son/daughter of Earl Partridge/Jimmy Gator, two showbiz philanderers dying of cancer and their passive wives Lily Partridge/Rose Gator (flower/animal). The two fathers Earl and Jimmy are desperately seeking to reconnect with their children, Jack and Claudia, each of which deeply resents their own father for past wrongs. Despite the kid's loathing of their fathers, Earl's womanizing is echoed in Jack's systematic womanizing, while Jimmy's child abuse is echoed in Claudia's systematic drug abuse. The cycle appears to continue with the present repeating the past. Will they break the cycle?

The two grown-up "kids" are echoed by the present whizkid Stanley Spector and the past whizkid Donnie Smith, both of who are or were star's of the TV game show, "What do kid's know?". That these four characters share an affinity outside of the other well-drawn characters is supported by a super-symmetry, which organizes and informs us about the four kids. First, all four kids are struggling with childhood's stolen or being stolen by their parents: Stanley's obsessive and driving father, Donnie's greedy exploitative parents, Claudia's abusive father and passive mother and Jack's absent and uncaring father. More symmetries abound. For example, the senses: Claudia's nose, constantly snorting cocaine (smell); Stanley Spector's eyes constantly reading books (sight); Jack's ear constantly pressed to his cell phone listening to his many handlers (hearing); Donnie's constant obsession with his teeth and his eventual mouthful of blood (taste). Another symmetry, each of the four kids is on a stage: the withdrawn Claudia resides in her living room in front of the TV/stereo entertainment center; Stanley spends his time at the TV studio; Donnie spends his time at the public bar; Jack at the auditorium. The character's symmetries are sometimes forced but clear: Stanley pees on himself, Donnie falls with his head in the toilet and Claudia's noted use of the phrase "piss and shit" is only said by one other character, Jack, her symmetrical counterpart. Last, each of the kid's is echoed in a different medium: we see scenes of both past and present whizkids, Stanley and Donnie, on the TV; we see pictures of Frank TJ Mackie in the porn magazines, we see Claudia's self-portrait as a girl in the painting "It did happen". The past thus manifests itself both physically as well as psychologically and we can appreciate this from four different angles.

What do kids know? With their epiphanies breaking at various parts of the movie, they all seem to reach a similar conclusion: How to break the cycle of uncaring, mechanical living. KINDNESS: Consider Stanley's admonishment to his father "Dad, you have to be nicer to me". HONESTY: Consider Claudia's plea to Policeman Jim, whose name echoes her father's name, "I'll tell you everything and you tell me everything and maybe we can get through all the piss and shit and lies that kill other people..." Jack's COURAGE in facing his father's death and stepping up to take care of Linda, thus echoing the care he gave his mother, Lily. Donnie's LOVE: "I really do have love to give..." Of the four epiphanies, none is more touching than Claudia's unexpected and knowing smile directly at the viewer in the last second of the movie. What do kids know? They know that "...it's not going to stop 'till you wise up."

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164 out of 241 people found the following comment useful :-
often brilliant, occasionally forced film, 3. September 2000
Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) von United States

`Magnolia' seems to divide audiences as much as it bewilders them. Some there are who see it as a brilliant exercise in creative, thought-provoking moviemaking, a film that challenges the notion that modern American cinema is comprised exclusively of formulaic retreads of earlier films or slick, mechanical displays of technical virtuosity, devoid of meaning and feeling. Others view `Magnolia' as the nom plus ultra of pretentiousness and self-satisfied smugness. Which of the two assessments is the correct one – or does the truth lie somewhere in between?

Actually, there is much to admire and cherish in `Magnolia.' Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has done a commendable job in putting on the screen a relatively unique vision – a qualification I feel forced to make because it does seem patently derived from much of the trailblazing work of director Robert Altman. Like Altman, Anderson creates a vast canvas of barely-related and briefly overlapping storylines and characters that come together under the umbrella of a single major theme and a few minor ones as well. Anderson's concern is to explore the concept of forgiveness and to examine the part it plays in the redemption we all seek through the course of our lifetimes. In this film, dying characters struggle to make amends with the loved ones they will soon leave behind, while estranged characters grope tentatively to establish or re-establish the bonds that must link them to other members of the human race. Anderson presents a tremendously wide range of characters, though for a film set in the northern areas of Los Angeles, `Magnolia' provides a surprisingly non-diverse sea of Caucasian faces. However, in terms of the ages of the characters, Anderson's crew seems more comprehensive, running the gamut from a pre-teen wiz kid to a terminally ill man in his mid-60's. Many of these characters seem to have created any number of facades to help them cope with the miseries and disappointments of life – and much of the redemption occurs only after those masks are stripped away revealing the emptiness and hurt that, in many cases, lurks so close to the surface.

Thematically, then, Anderson's film is a compelling one. Dramatically, however, it suffers from some serious flaws. Many viewers and critics have called `Magnolia' an artistic advancement, in both depth and scope, for Anderson, whose previous film was the similarly dense, moderately freeform `Boogie Nights.' I tend to disagree. If anything, `Boogie Nights,' by limiting itself to a much more narrowly restricted milieu – the 1970's porn industry – and focusing intently on a single main character, managed to connect more directly with the emotions of the audience. `Magnolia,' by being more expansive, paradoxically, seems more contracted. The pacing is often languid and the screenplay, running a bit over three hours, often seems bloated given the single-mindedness of its basic theme. Certainly, a few of these characters and storylines could have been dispensed with at no great cost to the film as a whole. By lining up all his characters to fit into the same general theme, the author allows his message to become a bit heavy-handed and over-emphatic. Anderson seems to want to capture the whole range of human experience on his enormous (and enormously long) movie canvas, yet because the characters seem to all be tending in the same direction - and despite the fact that the details of their experiences are different - the net effect is thematically claustrophobic.

The controversial ending, in which an event of literally biblical proportions occurs, feels generally right in the context of this film, though with some reservations. It seems perfectly in tune with the quality of heightened realism that Anderson establishes and sustains throughout the picture. On the other hand, the ending does pinpoint one of the failures of the film as a whole. Given that the screenplay has a strong Judeo-Christian subtext running all the way through it, one wonders why Anderson felt obliged to approach the religious issues in such strictly oblique terms. None of the characters – not even those who are dying – seem to turn to God for their forgiveness and redemption. In fact, one wonders what purpose that quirky ending serves since the characters are well on their way to making amends by the time it happens.

Anderson has marshaled an array of first-rate performances from a talented, well-known cast. Tom Cruise provides a wrenching case study of a shallow, charismatic shyster, who has parleyed his misogyny into a lucrative self-help industry. Yet, like many of the characters, he uses this façade as a shield to hide the hurt caused by a father who abandoned him and a mother whose slow, painful death he was forced to witness alone. The other actors, too numerous to mention, turn in equally worthy performances. Particularly interesting is the young boy who, in counterpoint to one of the other characters in the story, manages to save himself at an early age from the crippling effect of identity usurpation that it has taken so many others in this film a lifetime to overcome.

In many ways, `Magnolia' is the kind of film that could easily serve as the basis for a lengthy doctoral dissertation for a student majoring in either filmmaking or sociology. The density of its vision would surely yield up many riches of character, symbolism and theme that a first time viewer of the film would undoubtedly miss. Thus, in many ways, `Magnolia' is that rare film that seems to demand repeat exposure even for those audience members who may not `get it' the first time. As a viewing experience, `Magnolia' often seems rambling and purposeless, but it does manage to get under one's skin, and, unlike so many other, less ambitious works, this one grows in retrospect.

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123 out of 183 people found the following comment useful :-
I have never before spent so much time analyzing, discussing, or viewing a film..., 12. Januar 2000

Author: Loupis McWoop von West Linn, Oregon, USA

And it is a FILM. It is no ordinary movie. As a fan of Boogie Nights, I couldn't wait for Magnolia. Although its running time has made at least 20 people leave the auditorium, I have stayed for every single second. The mood and stories and characters keep building and building and building, and when it finally comes down, I feel this immense sense of relief and wonder at how PT Anderson was able to come up with something so clever and intertwining and wonderous, and was able to pull it off. This "movie" is not for everyone. It is thinking-hat required. I have also never been so excited to look up Bible verses before. The cast, as you have probably read, is superb. I have never been so impressed. This film has "restored my faith in the filmmaking industry. To see these actors, crew, and the writer/director/genius at work is inspiring." These people obviously love their craft, and one of my friends even said that the cast was "touched by the hands of God..." to which I whole-heartedly agree. He also has said, ""This film not only teaches film makers how to make films, but it teaches movie watchers how to watch movies!" to which I again whole-heartedly agree a thousand times over. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is absolutely outstanding as the only character who is "normal." His performance has made me smile and shake my fist in the air the three times I've seen Magnolia since it opened. Tom Cruise is also spectacular. As with every single last character, every line he utters is important to his character and what it means for the rest of the stories. Another outstanding performance/character is the part of police officer Jim Kurring, played by John C. Reilly. His character is just so perfect and JUST SOOOOO PERFECT that it makes me smile every time he is on screen. Add to all of this one incredible soundtrack, and you have something that will go down in film history as legend and probably one of the most underappreciated, misunderstood, and definitely underseen films of all time.

The soundtrack, oh, the soundtrack. When listening to the songs, I can picture each exact moment as if I was watching the movie all over again, and it brings unexplainable feeling. Aimee Mann's songs, especially, are a perfect fit to a perfect story and mood. This film is not for everyone, but, if you want to see glorious filmmaking, acting, writing, and characters in action, I HIGHLY suggest you see Magnolia.

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109 out of 157 people found the following comment useful :-
mag*no*li*a - a tree with large, fragrant flowers of white, pink, or purple, 7. Januar 2000

Author: Donald J. Lamb von Philadelphia, PA

A serious wake up call to the land of cinema has arrived with the incredible film MAGNOLIA. Human pain and suffering, as well as the ability to avoid making familiar mistakes, are hypnotically explored in P.T. Anderson's intricate motion picture. This is the best movie I've seen in over a year and hopefully will set a new example of realistic cinema depicting real human loss and tragedy. You grow and suffer with each and every character in this huge ensemble movie.

MAGNOLIA is indeed a sort of tree with varying branches of people, situations, and irony. To get into any plot aspects would be absurd. This is a 3 hour film that flies by so fast, you want more. You won't like every character, but you will find every character extremely interesting. I've rarely ever seen such deep character portraits in a major motion picture. The title makes much sense after witnessing such vibrant, different colors of the human spirit.

P.T. Anderson has arrived, especially after BOOGIE NIGHTS, which he parallels with this effort. His prior film had many of the same human aspects of right and wrong, life and death, but were guised by the porn industry. This guy just explodes with presence and energy, swallowing us with the events on screen. His camera roves everywhere and does not miss a beat. It takes place over a 24 hour period with roughly 12 major players whose lives interlock in multiple degrees of seriousness and sadness. Some begin sad and end hopeful, but these are the few and the lucky ones in this picture.

The standouts of the huge cast in particular were Julianne Moore as the shattered wife of TV mogul "Earl Partridge" (Jason Robards), existing now only to watch him die before her eyes of cancer. She is one of the unlucky ones, a character who made so many mistakes that she cannot do over. Philip Baker Hall is great as the host of "What Do Kids Know?" a game show with a truly engrossing side-plot. Hall is also dying and may have done irreparable damage to all around him.

John C. Reilly is the centerpiece of this extraordinary film. His cop character is the moral middle at the center of some nasty events. He is also the most likable character because he knows how to treat people, unlike most of the others. He sees how mistakes can't always be made up for. I must also mention Tom Cruise in a career altering performance that took some courage to do. He is completely original, yet not the end all and be all of a film for once.

This particular day, as captured and presented by writer-director Anderson, has had a profound effect on me. If you see it, you may know what I mean. Some scars last forever in this life and we all suffer and feel pain equally. MAGNOLIA is like FIVE EASY PIECES on speed. We see numerous people just trying to get along under some extreme circumstances in a labyrinth method, much like the structure of the film's title.

RATING: ****

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96 out of 138 people found the following comment useful :-
Even liked the frogs, 27. Januar 2001

Author: jasonsacks von Seattle WA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Magnolia" is a film of great passion, wonderful directorial virtuosity and stunning acting. In an age when filmmakers are afraid to make films that are actually about something. P.T. Anderson made a film that is about the most important thing: simply living day to day with all the tragedies and frustrations that can happen in our lives. That he does it with an incredible energy and spirit and passion makes the film even more powerful.

I got the feeling all throughout "Magnolia" that directory P.T. Anderson really loves his characters. As the camera moves over each of the characters, allowing us to see their lives, there's a constant feeling that we are seeing the characters souls laid bare on film. When we see Quiz Kid Donnie Smith in a bar ogling the bartender he loves, so much of the character is conveyed in one or two small gestures by actor William H. Macy. In five seconds Macy has conveyed the whole inner life of this character who we then see for three more hours. It's a spectacular moment in a film that is filled with spectacular moments. We seem to see Donnie Smith's soul in that moment. And the film is filled with scenes like that.

This film is over three hours long, but every scene fits well in the movie. It's hard to imagine anything being cut, as every scene adds depth and feeling, not to mention the back story for each of the characters. I was entranced all the way through this movie; I never noticed the time at all.

This film has haunted me since I first saw it. I kept thinking about quiz kid Stanley Spector just wanting to go to the bathroom, and the haunting soliloquy by Jason Robards on his death bed, and Tom Cruise shifting uncomfortably as he was interviewed. So many amazing characters, so many amazing performances. And yes, I did think about the frogs. Unlike most people, I liked the frogs. It leant a magical realist moment to a realistic film, and symbolically acted as a kid of purification for the painful lives of the characters. Anderson included the frogs for a reason, and they fit his concept of the film brilliantly.

This is one of the best movies I've seen in years. I'd give it a 10. It's the kind of film that only comes around once every few years.

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124 out of 203 people found the following comment useful :-
Best film of 1999, 15. März 2000

Author: Matt (hal-47) von Toronto, Canada

Magnolia is a film of epic proportions. A film that is our generation's. It's about real life, real people and real coincidences. These things happen, this is happening as Stanley Spector states. Magnolia is as perfect a film as you will see these days. P.T.'s camera acts as the protagonist, and the ensemble cast is one of the most solid in film history. Told in 24 hours, set up by a remarkable prologue and finished with a beautiful epilogue, Magnolia finds beauty in the darkness of life. In the redemption of the filth life sometimes brings us. It shows us that we are all connected through pain and suffering and sinning and yet, it does not give us this pessimistic view. Certain films cannot be described, they must be viewed and everyone should view this masterpiece!!!

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66 out of 109 people found the following comment useful :-
The best film I've seen this year!!!, 19. Dezember 1999
Author: Justin Charles (verbalk104@aol.com) von New Jersey

The first encounter that I ever had with Paul Thomas Anderson was through "Boogie Nights." I admit, I first saw it because of I heard that it was about the porn industry. However, I was surprised to discover an intimate look into the damaged lives of several very interesting, well-developed characters. I also was delighted to have found a new and exciting director whose career and films I will be sure to follow. Anderson's cinematic flamboyance, technical bravura, and inspired storytelling ability make him a talent who is emblematic of the resurrgence in creative and dynamic filmmaking that has occured in this past year. Like Fincher(Fight Club), Mendes(American Beauty), Jonze(Being John Malkovich), and the Wachowski Brothers(The Matrix), Anderson has created a truly unique film that stretches the boundaries of cinema.

Many who I saw the movie with grumbled repeatedly about it's length. Clocking in at about three hours and ten minutes, "Magnolia" is long. Even if you are as strong an advocate of the film as I am, you will think that it is long. I really had to go to the bathroom the whole time. But I did not want to miss a single second of Mr. Anderson's fascinating opus. The prologue is very well done, doing a good job of drawing in the viewer. It makes an interesting commentary on coincidence, wjich segues nicely into the rest of the film. The first half hour of the film is the most wonderfully done I have ever seen. Just as Anderson does in "Boogie Nights," the prodigy weaves a fast-paced web of intrigue, flashing tidbits of the many characters' lives that leave the viewer thirsty for more. The rhythm of the film slows down for the bulk of it, as we learn more and more and become more intimately involved in the lives of the wonderfully flawed characters. The film seems to build and build into something bigger than itself. In a way, that is the main flaw of it, but also the beauty of it. Anderson's ambitiousness is huge, but I wouldn't call him an overreacher.

This film is so full of great performances. It is probably the best ensemble piece that I have witnessed. There has been much Oscar buzz on Tom Cruise's behalf, but I honestly believe that there are so many Oscar worthy performances in this film that it is a futile effort to mention them all.

Particularly strong in the movie is the editing, which allows for the interconnected stories of the various characters to be placed parallel to each other very smoothly. The cinematography is wonderful, obviously influenced by Scorcese. I really don't believe that this film could have been as good as it was if it were any shorter. Seeing it is truly an experience. I was almost sad to see it end.

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76 out of 129 people found the following comment useful :-
Stunning and Emotionally Moving Drama, 20. November 2000

Author: dalcott (danalcott@yahoo.com) von United States

I rented this movie from Blockbuster without knowing anything about it. I was hooked from the opening scene until the final frame and was sad to see the movie end. The character development, plot, and acting were magnificent. I was moved on many levels and felt almost every conceivable emotion at one point or another. The characters seemed so real to me that I was hard pressed to think of a movie that had the same strong level of character development across the board. The only negative comment I can make is that I felt like there were a couple loose ends when the movie finished. But this may have been intentional and was a minor blemish in an otherwise very fine film. Even Tom Cruise reached new levels as an actor in this film. I gave it a 9 out of 10, only because a perfect 10 is a once in a lifetime film in my opinion. A must see for serious dramatical movie lovers.

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71 out of 123 people found the following comment useful :-
The best movie of 1999., 6. April 2000

Author: The Truth von Helsinki, Finland

Forget American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, Eyes Wide Shut. Magnolia is definitely the best movie of 1999, and one of the best American movies ever made.

Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson's previous effort was already a promising effort, but it was a bit too long. Magnolia is even longer, but it's filled with such a spectrum of touching stories and such a quantity of wonderful characters, that I didn't even notice the three hour length. Magnolia is a mosaic of intertwining and intercepting stories, dealing with such issues as forgiveness, hurt, redemption, sin and the role of chance in our lives. And though the film offers a deep emotional catharsis, it never loses it delicate, humane tone. The people Magnolia displays are not the best of men, but none of them are beyond forgiveness. That, to my opinion, is the most important message the film conveys.

As many have already said, Magnolia is an ensemble piece. Acting is superb throughout the film, and though Magnolia has approximately ten lead role and a bunch of supporting characters, there isn't a single member of the cast who is misplaced. My personal favorites are Philip Seymour Hoffman as the sensitive nurse (compare this role to the sleazy characters he played in Boogie Nights, Happiness and The Talented Mr Ripley and you'll notice what a great actor he is), Tom Cruise as the self-made seduction guru (his best performance ever) and William H. Macy as the former child prodigy who never grew up (his role resembles the one he did in Fargo, but in Magnolia he is redeemed of his sins).

No film is perfect and even Magnolia has it's flaws, but I'm still so stunned by this masterpiece that I haven't even started to think what they could be. That, I think, says it all about the quality of this film.

Rating: **** (of ****)

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27 out of 40 people found the following comment useful :-
The Calculated Genius, 2. Januar 2007

Author: carlostallman von Argentina

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I remember being startled when I saw "Magnolia" back in 1999. I enjoyed it throughly and I sang PT Anderson's praises. We're in 2007 now - two days into the New Year - and I decided to see "Magnolia" again with a couple of people who were seeing it for the first time. Shocking really. The brilliance is still all there but I couldn't help seeing through it. It all felt so damn calculated that its smart ass phoniness took over my senses. Only Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance made me "feel" something. When I was with him I was somewhere and Tom Cruise is fun to watch. Julianne Moore is unbearable and the whole movie drags from, by now, predictable turn to predictable turn. The frogs are wonderful but they are just frogs pouring over the Valley. I'll see it again in another six years and let's see what happens. I feel that Mr Anderson, if you forgive the impertinence, needs a doses of humbleness. Talent he has, in enormous quantities.

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