Date: 7 January 2000 Summary: mag*no*li*a - a tree with large, fragrant flowers of white, pink, or purple
A serious wake up call to the land of cinema has arrived with the incredible
film MAGNOLIA. Human pain and suffering, as well as the ability to avoid
making familiar mistakes, are hypnotically explored in P.T. Anderson's
intricate motion picture. This is the best movie I've seen in over a year
and hopefully will set a new example of realistic cinema depicting real
human loss and tragedy. You grow and suffer with each and every character
in this huge ensemble movie.
MAGNOLIA is indeed a sort of tree with varying branches of people,
situations, and irony. To get into any plot aspects would be absurd. This
is a 3 hour film that flies by so fast, you want more. You won't like every
character, but you will find every character extremely interesting. I've
rarely ever seen such deep character portraits in a major motion picture.
The title makes much sense after witnessing such vibrant, different colors
of the human spirit.
P.T. Anderson has arrived, especially after BOOGIE NIGHTS, which he
parallels with this effort. His prior film had many of the same human
aspects of right and wrong, life and death, but were guised by the porn
industry. This guy just explodes with presence and energy, swallowing us
with the events on screen. His camera roves everywhere and does not miss a
beat. It takes place over a 24 hour period with roughly 12 major players
whose lives interlock in multiple degrees of seriousness and sadness. Some
begin sad and end hopeful, but these are the few and the lucky ones in this
picture.
The standouts of the huge cast in particular were Julianne Moore as the
shattered wife of TV mogul "Earl Partridge" (Jason Robards), existing now
only to watch him die before her eyes of cancer. She is one of the unlucky
ones, a character who made so many mistakes that she cannot do over. Philip
Baker Hall is great as the host of "What Do Kids Know?" a game show with a
truly engrossing side-plot. Hall is also dying and may have done
irreparable damage to all around him.
John C. Reilly is the centerpiece of this extraordinary film. His cop
character is the moral middle at the center of some nasty events. He is
also the most likeable character because he knows how to treat people,
unlike most of the others. He sees how mistakes can't always be made up
for. I must also mention Tom Cruise in a career altering performance that
took some courage to do. He is completely original, yet not the end all and
be all of a film for once.
This particular day, as captured and presented by writer-director Anderson,
has had a profound effect on me. If you see it, you may know what I mean.
Some scars last forever in this life and we all suffer and feel pain
equally. MAGNOLIA is like FIVE EASY PIECES times 10. We see numerous
people just trying to get along under some extreme circumstances in a
labyrinth method, much like the structure of the film's
title.
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