Magnolia (8 December 1999)
directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
starring John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Jeremy Blackman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Melora Walters, Jason Robards, Alfred Molina
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MPAA rating: Studio: New Line Cinema Script: Paul Thomas Anderson Music: Jon Brion, Aimee Mann Running time: 188 minutes Suggested retail price: $29.95 (US) Tags: cocaine; death; Drama; drugs; Family Crisis; frogs; homosexuality; Los Angeles; police; quiz shows; rain; suicide; whiz kids Tactical strength: [8/10]
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for strong language, drug use, sexuality and some violence
The line "You may be done with the past, but the past isn't done with you," pretty much sums up the plight of Magnolia's interconnected characters. Police Officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly) wants to escape his bored life so badly that when he investigates Claudia Gator (Melora Walters) for making a disturbance, he asks her on a date rather than arresting her for obvious drug use. Claudia suffers from the belief that her father, TV quiz-show host Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), molested her as a child. Jimmy has cancer and collapses during his 30th anniversary of the quiz show that pits whiz kids like Stan (Jeremy Blackman) against adults. In the distant past, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), won the grand prize on the show, but lost his genius abilities after being struck by lightning. Donnie has a homosexual fixation on a bartender with braces, and he believes that if he too gets orthodontia, that the bartender will love him.
Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) also has cancer. He feels immense guilt for cheating on his first wife and abandoning his son Frank (Tom Cruise). Earl confesses his guilt to his home nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who spends hours on the phone trying to contact Frank. Frank has developed a successful infomercial and seminar series on seducing women, which Donnie has applied to attracting his bartender. Earl's current wife, Linda (Julianne Moore), fells guilty for having cheated on Earl, and contemplates suicide.
Magnolia takes incredible liberties with reality. During one Aimee Mann song, the scenes switch from character to character, with each one singing along with the soundtrack. In another scene, frogs rain from the sky like the proverbial plague.
All the characters either feel some huge regret for past deeds or for mistreatment in the past. They all seem to believe that they have escaped their past histories, but life doesn't want to let any of these characters forget. Magnolia forces the past in the character's faces and makes them wallow in it.
Somehow, in spite of all the negative situations, Magnolia has a voyeuristic charm. I think we all can sympathize with one or more of the characters, and perhaps we realize (especially after the World Trade Center disaster) how easily outside events can pull our lives out of the track that we carefully planned an place us on a collision course with our past.
I probably would have rated Magnolia an 9, but the vulgar language kept coming in such a steady stream that you begin to wonder if these people could ever make a sentence without swearing. Perhaps director Paul Thomas Anderson heard about CleanFlicks and wanted to make a movie that no one could possibly clean up.
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