Writer/director P.T. Anderson plays the stories off one another to great effect.
Magnolia (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:136
Fresh:113
Rotten:23
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Critics say Magnolia is an ambitious, lengthy work that ultimately succeeds due to the interesting stories and excellent ensemble performances.
Runtime: 3 hrs 8 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: In a single day in Los Angeles, a number of interconnected lives are changed forever. A lonely police officer (John C. Reilly) falls in love with a disturbed cocaine addict (Melora Walters). Her... In a single day in Los Angeles, a number of interconnected lives are changed forever. A lonely police officer (John C. Reilly) falls in love with a disturbed cocaine addict (Melora Walters). Her father (Philip Baker Hall), the host of the game show "What Do Kids Know?" has terminal cancer and tries to make amends for his past mistakes. A former champion of the show (William H. Macy) struggles to find love while the current champion (Jeremy Blackman) suffocates under the pressures of being a boy genius. An elderly man (Jason Robards) lies on his deathbed, tended by nurse Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), while his trophy wife (Julianne Moore) wrestles with grief and guilt, and his estranged son (Tom Cruise), an infomercial host, teaches workshops on how to trick women into having sex. Throughout all of this, past deeds are lamented and strange forces loom in the air. Director Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to BOOGIE NIGHTS is an extravagant, emotional epic inspired by such films as Robert Altman's NASHVILLE and SHORT CUTS, with a sprawling cast of characters searching for love and meaning in a chaotic world. The cast delivers uniformly excellent performances, most notably Tom Cruise's Oscar-nominated role as the sleazy Frank T.J. Mackey. [More]
Starring: John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Starring: John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Melora Walters, William H. Macy, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Bowen, Melinda Dillon, April Grace, Luis Guzmán, Alfred Molina, Michael Murphy, Felicity Huffman, Henry Gibson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producer: Joanne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson
Composer: Jon Brion
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Reviews for Magnolia
The acting is spellbinding and illustrates the dysfunctional core of humans at a level that exceeds most films.
There's a lot of really neat, cool honestly imaginative stuff in Magnolia, but it's hardly the best movie I've seen in the past month.
Unlike the flashy but hollow Boogie Nights or the studied tough-guy attitude of Hard Eight, Magnolia grounds its stylistic pyrotechnics with genuine emotion.
Make no mistake, Magnolia is unlike any other film released this past year, be it from the aspect of its storylines, of which there are many, or its emotional clarity, which is, quite frankly, brutal.
As in his brilliantly incisive Boogie Nights, Anderson here tells the tales of remorse and hope among the lonely, the misguided, the desperate.
Magnolia's finest achievement is the sheer ambition running through every vein.
Magnolia is the kind of film I instinctively respond to. Leave logic at the door. Do not expect subdued taste and restraint, but instead a kind of operatic ecstasy.
The more you think about Magnolia -- the dry wit, the bravura staging, the intricate design, the wondrous performances -- the better and more unusual the film seems.
Anderson is still a solid talent, but he should remember to explore his ideas in depth as well as breadth.
The film’s genius lies in Mr. Anderson’s brilliant construction, which weaves the stories together with dazzling elegance.
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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