Review of Magnolia (1999) by Sean L — 22 Sep 2011
Like each one of writer / director Paul Thomas Anderson's other films, I found Magnolia to be excessively long, desperately wordy, hopelessly plodding and wholly hypnotic. Anderson's developed an innate talent for crafting versatile, flawed, joylessly realistic characters facing the end of their rope, and in that regard this might just be his best work.
While the author's deliberate pace is admittedly a major hurdle, it also allows him to explore his cast to an intimate degree that's untouched by his contemporaries. His characters seem so resistant to forward momentum, in fact, that the eventual arrival of major plot developments often caught me completely by surprise, like being stabbed in the heart by a sloth.
Though Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore and William H. Macy deliver the most rewarding performances, this is really an ensemble piece that would fall flat without the presence of an equally powerful supporting cast.
A terrific exercise in characterization, it's tragically narcoleptic at times.
This review of Magnolia (1999) was written by Sean L on 22 Sep 2011.
Magnolia has generally received positive reviews.
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