Review of Magnolia (1999) by Derek T — 03 Dec 2013

Magnolia, P.T. Anderson's tale of people living in a small radius in LA, is full of paradoxes: epic yet intimate; intertwined yet independent; personal yet universal. It seems like it should be a tired cliché (ie.

people with lives that criss-cross unexpectedly), but it is as fresh and vital as it ever has been, mainly because of the vivacity of the performances. From Cruise's bombastic misogynist to Reilly's insecure cop to Moore's unbalanced wife, every actor is perfectly cast and directed, thanks to Anderson's steady vision.

It seems that at any time that Anderson could have let the film go too far in any direction, whether that be melodrama (see: Crash), self-importance, or even flippancy, but he tautly keeps all of the storylines moving toward the unexpected conclusion, preferring never to take the easy route and give simple answers.

Many of the characters do not have storylines that are resolved on screen, but it feels like it would have been out of character with the point of the film to do so; it is better that, although there is some resolution, we are left with some open ends, and arguably more questions than answers, because that's how life works, even in the presence of very strange phenomena.

This was my second time watching this film, and I just may need to put it in more regular rotation because it has so much depth. Magnolia is truly one of my favourite films; now I need to go listen to some Supertramp.