Review of Magnolia (1999) by Christopher C — 12 Apr 2011

P.T. Anderson's 1999 film MAGNOLIA is one heck of an ensemble drama. Its main characters include a dying television executive (Jason Robards), his nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman), his wife (Julianne Moore), a LAPD police officer (John C. Reilly), a game show host (Philip Baker Hall), his coked-up daughter (Melora Walters), a sleazy "how to score with women" guru (Tom Cruise, in the best performance of his career), a child prodigy (Jeremy Blackman), and a former child prodigy (William H. Macy). Over the course of one day in San Fernando Valley the relationships between them are shown through a series of fateful encounters. The great theme of MAGNOLIA is the sins of the fathers visited upon their children. The film has a surprise ending, which works as a deus ex machina, not only resolving all the different plot strands in one instant, but also symbolizing God's intervening hand, freeing the younger characters so that they may live their own lives.

MAGNOLIA is a powerful film. As a young man I saw it many times in the theatre when it came out, and I continue to watch it on DVD often enough. There is a fine screenplay, often praiseworthy acting, impressive cinematography, and a great soundtrack by Aimee Mann. That said, after developing a better understanding of the world of film (I've become something of a 1960s auteur film snob), I am more critical of it. Unlike many who find fault with the film, I don't think that the film overstays its welcome at 3 hours. However, the opening, where Anderson presents three (pseudo-)historical tales of amazing coincidences, is entertaining enough, but it could have easily been cut without affecting the main of the film. What Anderson should not have cut, on the other hand, is the subplot involving Orlando Jones as an inner-city murderer, elements of which have been left in but which make little sense without the whole.

If you are a fan of the film, the two-disc edition is well worth getting. The extra Frank "T.J." Mackey material is hilarious, and the making-of documentary, far from being promotional fluff like all too many, is revelatory about Anderson's film-making process.