Magnolia
(1999)
Rated: R
Runtime: 3 Hours and 14 Minutes
Reviewer: Erik
Grade: A+"Magnolia" is a sprawling masterpiece about one day in the lives of several people living on a street called Magnolia in the San Fernando Valley. This movie is a balancing act, both in theme and execution. It successfully juggles themes of forgiveness and redemption, while covering relationships that deal with no fewer than 10 major characters. This movie is not set on cruise-control, so leave any ideas of a standard plot at the door.
Major characters include: Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a dying ex-TV producer who's married to Linda Partridge (Julianne Moore), a woman who married him for his money and can't deal with it; Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), a self-help guru whose charismatic personality hides a dark past; Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the nurse who aids Earl in his dying days; Officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), whose need to help others gets him involved with cocaine addict Claudia Gator (Melora Walters); "Whiz Kid" Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), a former quiz show celebrity as a child who now has no direction but lots of love to give; Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), the newest quiz show child sensation with a slave- driver for a dad (Rick Spector, played by Michael Bowen); And finally, game show host Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who's dying of cancer and has some secrets he's all too willing to share with his wife Rose (Melinda Dillon) before he dies.
The first half-hour of the movie introduces us to all these characters in dizzying fashion, and then we're thrown headfirst into one story after another. Although the first hour is definitely enjoyable, the second hour is where the movie picks up. Director P.T. Anderson brilliantly balances cuts to several happenings of characters who are losing their grip or just about to.
The way he achieves this boiling point is done so expertly, it's easy to forget you're watching a drama.
The major theme of the movie is obviously forgiveness, mostly dealing with kids trying to forgive their parents, but sometimes dealing with trying to forgive yourself. The movie is also sometimes about redemption and trying to deal with your past. If it sounds a lot like everyday life, that's to be expected.
Obviously, I haven't touched on much of the "plot" here, and I won't. The movie revolves around relationships. You have to see and experience. The developments are not to be thrown away.
P.T. Anderson not only succeeds at balancing a lot here, but also keeps things fresh with his great eye for camera angles, his amazing dialogue and an ending that should not be given away under any circumstances. In an effort to keep things relatively short, I'll just say that there isn't a weak performance in the cast. Yes, look for Tom Cruise to be rewarded at Oscar time, and look for some serious Oscar contention from just about anybody else in the cast.
The greatest compliment I can pay this movie isn't to end this review with some hokey comment or give it a star-rating. What I can say is: This movie made me think, and it made me feel for the characters, each and every single one of them. The movie inspired some very serious talk with my friends and family, and I continue to give this film serious thought and analysis about 72 hours after seeing it. "Magnolia" is the best movie I've seen this year.
Reviewer: Dale
Grade: A-
If nothing else, this year proves wrong all those people who say that there are no new ideas in Hollywood. In fact, there could be nothing further from the truth.
The first film this year to disprove that was "The Matrix". Yes, it owes quite a bit to everything from comic books, anime, and even the GAP ads, but the way it combines all these elements in a unique, thought-provoking plot, breathless action sequences and amazing, hyperkinetic action sequences which, quite simply, are more exciting than anything I have seen in a long time was so startling and original that it took many people (including me) by surprise. What could have been just another "Johnny Mnemonic" was turned into something breathtaking, bizarre, and thoroughly wonderful. Possibly the best action film of the decade.
At the very least, it's in the running.
Then there is "Run, Lola, Run". It's a magnificent visual feast, the sort of movie that takes hold of your sense with reckless abandon and refuses to let go. The simplicity of the plot, the audacity of the sound, the vision, the acting, and the editing (not to mention the addition of such elements as animation and snapshots) all make it simply amazing. It's the best foreign film I have seen since "El Mariachi" and one of the best films of the year.
Then: "Being John Malkovich". The very premise illustrates the power of the imagination. Like it or not, you have to admit that it is simply unlike anything you have ever seen before. It's witty, delicate and insanely clever, not to mention downright insane.
"Magnolia" belongs with these other films, although it is a much different beast. "Magnolia" is about human relationships, first and foremost. It is about the delicacy of such relationships. It is about the way people slip away from you, the way fate turns on a dime, the way that life is nothing so much as an unexpected bundle of chances. For these traits, "Magnolia" (Which is not quite a perfect film) deserves applause. It deserves kudos for being such a remarkable, unique, brazen vision. It does not adhere to the commonplace rules of modern filmmaking. In fact, it does not really present itself as a film but, rather, it presents itself as the unbroken document of a day. The movie shows us not a wonderful day, not for any of the characters, but rather a bad day. Each of these people is having, with a few small breaks, what I would categorize as the day from Hell. Yet maybe, just maybe the days from Hell are the things that define us. The great, noble virtue of this film is the way it suggests that maybe we learn more from the bad days than we do from a million good ones. I could make a laundry lists of the strengths of this film, but instead I will pinpoint several things that I thought were very, very good about it. The performances. Jason Robards gives a tender, realistic performance of a man who is dying and knows it. He is trying to cast away all the bitterness, all the greed, all the worst things about himself, but he is finding it as hard to give these up as a man trying to give up any other longtime addiction. His performance is one of those superb performances where you simply fail to see the actor pulling the strings behind this man and instead see him as this human being. You accept him as this character. He is this man. Raw, hot-tempered, striking out at the world and weeping for more of it at the same time. The same could be said of Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance as a tender nurse trying to make this man's last few days more special. There is not a false note in his portrayal of this man, and a sweet man he is. I have seen Philip Seymour Hoffman play a great many rude, arrogant men in the past few years, but he shines in this role as a truly decent man, not a saint, but a man striving to be one at the least. Tom Cruise is also a revelation. His performance here is soulless, blistering and real. He is alive here, in a way he wasn't in "Eyes Wide Shut" and in a way he hasn't been in any movie since "Jerry Maguire". To see him here is to understand what a magnetic talent he is. Even as a man this vicious, he is intensely watchable. His charisma is well used here. There are other great performances, a handful of them, in fact. The cinematography is astounding in its length and its creativity without dominating the film in a "Look, Ma, I'm making a movie" manner. The script is very realistic (With a few major flourishes) and shows both extremes of the human psyche: both its tenderness and honor and its pettiness and harsh indecency. It puts a spotlight on our great points and our low ones and its ending illustrates the unexpectness and absurdity of humanity itself and the way that the characters react to this absurd twist illustrates just how realistic they are, and just how pliable and remarkable the human spirit can be.
Hell, I think I just sold myself on this film.