Day 039 || Magnolia

Magnolia, 1999

Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

"And it is in the humble opinion of this narrator that strange things happen all the time. And so it goes, and so it goes. And as the book says 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us'."

Magnolia is one of Paul Thomas Anderson's films that I have been meaning to see for awhile. Anderson's style and wit that he brings to all of his films makes it clear as to why he is heralded as one of the most important and greatest modern directors. His works easily compare to Wes Anderson's, Quentin Tarantino's and The Coen Brothers'. But with that level of genius and by non-conforming to the norm, Anderson's films are just as divisive as those aforementioned directors.

Magnolia might be one of Anderson's divisive films yet.

Magnolia tells several stories of seemingly unrelated characters and then slowly starts to pull all of them together in a cohesive way that mirrors several other films of the type, such as Crash or Love Actually. But whereas those two films took on racism and love, respectively, Magnolia aims it's sights seemingly on reconciliation and forgiveness. With loss and coping with loss. To say Magnolia was a happy and uplifting film would pretty much be a lie. It ends on a sweet, and heartwarming note, but most of the three-hour running time is filled with broken and damaged characters who have lost a great deal of who they are, be it to their own devices or because something was taken from them. Anderson paints a tragic portrait for all these characters, and he does it so masterfully.

To give all the credit to Anderson would be foolish, because without great actors, these characters wouldn't be brought to life so richly. William H. Macy, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Riley, Phillip Baker Hall, and Melora Walters round out an impressive and astonishing cast, who make all the characters stand out. In any other film, giving the same amount of characters an equal amount of screen time might wash out or dilute the relevance and importance of a few of the characters, but here they all shine (for the most part) in their own ways. I say for the most part, because it might just be me, but I felt that Tom Cruise towards the end of his character arc, and Julianne Moore (to a much lesser extent), were over-the-top in their key emotional scenes...so much so that it almost became laughable. This is a very small complaint as they never reach the levels of absurd (and too over-the-top) acting that Daniel Day Lewis reached in There Will Be Blood. And aside those few scenes, they do superbly.

Another complaint was that the film feels largely unedited. I'm not sure if trimming off bits of the running time would necessarily be great for the film, as the reason why Magnolia works so well is because of the characters, and if you start cutting the film, you start cutting away at the characters. It seems like Anderson was in a rock and a hard place because the film definitely feels long, and it is, but I couldn't see places where I would trim it down either.

Overall, Magnolia was a great and emotional experience, one that will leave the audience touched, or completely confused and dumbfounded. In fact, there's a scene where frogs literally start raining from the sky, without any explanation at any point in the film. It's just a strange thing happening seemingly randomly that ties all of these characters together, and if that sounds too bizarre or strange for your tastes, you should probably avoid this film. For the more open-minded and curious though, I'm positive Magnolia will satisfy and deliver. It's definitely a film that the more I reflect and think about, the more I love and dig on it. I plan on watching this again soon, and showing more people, and I hope that with each viewing I appreciate it more and more.

5 out of 5