Magnolia (1999)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer (WGA):

Paul Thomas Anderson (written by)

Release Date:

7 January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Coincidence | Cancer | One Day | Whiz Kid | Decision

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

mag-no'li-a (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

188 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Angelus Oaks, California, USA

Company:

Ghoulardi Film Company

Trivia:

Both Philip Baker Hall and Jason Robards' characters opt to take a smoke from their cigarettes, but choose not to before they confess of their regrets. And only one of them actually lights it.

Goofs:

Continuity: Two lights on the back of the ambulance are on and off in consecutive shots.

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Soundtrack:

Goodbye Stranger

If only this movie hadn't been nominated for anything...

... because of it's nomination, I decided I would sit through this movie until the end. I kept hoping it would become... well... watchable? Yep, that's the word. It certainly never GOT watchable. The opening # w/ the song "One" was irritating, but I gave it it's shot. By the end of the first tape, I was pretty sure it wouldn't get any better. By the end of the second... I was really upset that I'd bothered to rent it. What's so bad?

Plot: none that comes together. If you keep thinking that all of the storylines will come together, in some depressing, artsy, and pointless version of "Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels" all I can say is, you're SOL. The movie starts out with 2 or 3 plots. And it ends with 2 or 3 plots. Two of them mix... but none of them come to any conclusion, and at no point do they ALL come together.

The characters: Bah. Perhaps they were somewhat realistic, before the actors got a hold of them, but in the finished product they all seem fake as hell, because

The acting: Sucks. Kind of like Kabuki, in that a.) everything is incredibly overstated, but b.) if you're incredibly anal you'll find subtleties. Not a SINGLE piece of dialog, other the incoherent ramblings of a doped-up dying old man (which are incoherent, and ramble), is delivered in anything LIKE the manner a real person would use. The dialog is HEAVILY contrived. Tom Cruise really was ok - his dialog sucked but it ALMOST sounded natural from him. I was impressed. The cop - if you see it, you'll know who I refer to - was just SO bad a character and acted SO badly I developed a physical reaction to him coming on screen. Specifically, nausea. And finally...

The frogs: the movie got fun for approximately 10 minutes. Why? Because the fact that a bible verse involving Egypt and the plagues was mentioned hours ago does NOT mean that millions of frogs raining from the sky in modern-day LA for NO reason whatsoever makes ANY sense at all. So incredibly whimsical, I laughed in shock through the entire sequence.

In short: it's not artistic, it's artsy crap.