Magnolia (1999)

An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars:

Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Moore	...	Linda Partridge
William H. Macy	...	Donnie Smith
John C. Reilly	...	Officer Jim Kurring
Tom Cruise	...	Frank T.J. Mackey
Philip Baker Hall	...	Jimmy Gator
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Phil Parma
Jason Robards	...	Earl Partridge
Alfred Molina	...	Solomon Solomon
Melora Walters	...	Claudia Wilson Gator
Michael Bowen	...	Rick Spector
Ricky Jay	...	Burt Ramsey / Narrator
Jeremy Blackman	...	Stanley Spector
Melinda Dillon	...	Rose Gator
April Grace	...	Gwenovier
Luis Guzmán	...	Luis (as Luis Guzman)

Storyline

24 hours in L.A.; it's raining cats and dogs. Two parallel and intercut stories dramatize men about to die: both are estranged from a grown child, both want to make contact, and neither child wants anything to do with dad. Earl Partridge's son is a charismatic misogynist; Jimmy Gator's daughter is a cokehead and waif. A mild and caring nurse intercedes for Earl, reaching the son; a prayerful and upright beat cop meets the daughter, is attracted to her, and leads her toward a new calm. Meanwhile, guilt consumes Earl's young wife, while two whiz kids, one grown and a loser and the other young and pressured, face their situations. The weather, too, is quirky.

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Plot Keywords:

coincidence | cancer | whiz kid | one day | decision | 

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Taglines:

Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, drug use, sexuality and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

New Line

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

7 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mag·no'li·a

Filming Locations:

Angelus Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£371,023 (UK) (24 March 2000)

Gross:

$22,450,975 (USA) (12 May 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ghoulardi Film Company, New Line Cinema, The Magnolia Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

188 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the game show scene, a lot of talk is about a movie audition, with Alan Thicke and Corey Haim, about destroying a high school. This refers to the actual film Demolition High.

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Goofs

When Officer Kurring is leaving the station and walking to his cruiser in the beginning, he is carrying a shotgun. In the next shot as he steps into the cruiser, in the same hand he is holding a night stick and a flashlight, and no shotgun.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In the New York Herald, November 26, year 1911, there is an account of the hanging of three men. They died for the murder of Sir Edmund William Godfrey; Husband, Father, Pharmacist and all around gentle-man resident of: Greenberry Hill, London. He was murdered by three vagrants whose motive was simple robbery. They were identified as: Joseph Green, Stanley Berry, and Daniel Hill. Green, Berry, Hill. And I Would Like To Think This was Only A Matter Of Chance. As reported in the Reno...

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Crazy Credits

Pedestrian #2 is incorrectly spelled Pedistrian #2.

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Connections

References The Big Lebowski (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Build That Wall"
Written by Aimee Mann and Jon Brion
Performed by Aimee Mann
Courtesy of Superego Records

User Reviews

Easily one of the best films I've ever seen

This is easily one of the best films I've ever seen. There are films who are good, some are entertaining and some on the verge of greatness. This film actually achieved what so many fail to do. It's nearly flawless.

Set in LA, the stories of multiple people interwoven with each other. There's the decent and lonely cop Jim (John C. Reilly), a drug abusing and desperate woman (Melora Walters), the daughter of a show master (Philip Baker Hall), his wife (Melinda Dillon), the new and the old quiz kids of his show (Jeremy Blackman and William H. Macy), the dying producer of this show (Jason Robards), his second wife (Julianne Moore), his lost son (Tom Cruise) and his nurse (Philip Seymour Hofmann).

As the film explains in his first scenes unlikely events occur all the time and asks us to sit back and watch them unfold. If you can't do that, you're likely disappointed. If you're willing to accept, that there coincidences and events, that can't be easily explained you're in for a treat.

This is also to the credit of the considerable large cast, who all, no matter how small their part, give incredible performances. Each one has at least one standout scene and together they create a human drama of tremendous passion. The most surprising thing here is Tom Cruise (yes, once upon a time the Star Tom Cruise worked pretty hard to be the actor Tom Cruise) who gives easily the best performance of his entire career.

Apart from the actors the film is impeccably crafted. Paul Thomas Anderson is on the height of his craft here, being responsible not only for the directing, but also for the script, the editing and the producing. This movie surely is his sole achievement.

Magnolia is a very angry film. The people here are abused, drugged, in pain, clueless, struggling through life, trying to find their way only to be confronted with unexpected events. And, besides all this fight, they are all are in a desperate search for love.

One might say that Anderson is unforgiving. For the most part of the film we are confronted with a lot of despair and pain. But, only in the end we sense that there's hope for all of them. That, despite their mistakes and their faults, that they all can be forgiven.