MAGNOLIA (1999)
Grade: B+
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: John C. Reily, Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon, Jeremy Blackman, April Grace, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Robards, Phillip Baker Hall, William H. Macy, Melora Walters
In MAGNOLIA, Tom Cruise struts and jives, pervading his boyish voice with the inflection of a soulful preacher, William H. Macy babbles about his past, and Melora Walters snorts a lot of coke. Like a Robert Altman film (McCABE AND MRS. MILLER, SHORT CUTS), Paul Thomas Anderson's (BOOGIE NIGHTS) interests lie in communities, and the people who co-exist within them. He leaps between disparate narratives and characters (all with comparative issues), the audience instinctively assuming that he will eventually bring everyone together for the finale (as is usually the case with such a film). But Anderson has something more complex up his sleeve. Without giving too much away, MAGNOLIA is not so much about its characters as it is about the volatile life that surrounds them. And it's not particularly interested in traditional plot lines, but thematically, everything relates. The film concludes in a manner, that made me think of the lack of supremacy we have over our lives.
As the millennium approached, various religious zealots predicted the end of the world. These knuckleheads made the assumption that Earth would be no more because of a passage in the bible hinting that "something" would happen following the commencement of the millennium. Of course nothing did, and besides we have no idea when the millennium is; date and time are man-made and as such we're not on any schedule! (Please excuse me for being so obvious, but trust me, this half-hearted semi-rant is going somewhere). These kind of sentiments have much to do with man's desire to be in control of his existence when really he's just another "spoke on the wheel", to quote one of the characters from MAGNOLIA. We like to think that we have control over our lives, but the sad truth is that we have very little say in the way things ultimately pan out: a plane could crash into our house while we lay in bed, a psycho path might gun us down in a shopping mall, an earthquake may trap us under a building. Life is a series of moments where we often must put our trust in the world that we inhabit. I don't believe that most audiences will walk out of MAGNOLIA liking it as much as I did, or getting from it what I did. Some will say that its ending is irrational, a "cop out", but it resonated with me, and I feel as if I "get" what Anderson was doing. However, one somewhat vocal member of the audience did not. This man chortled loudly at the films concluding moments, obnoxiously proclaiming "This is ridiculous!" I don't think it is. The ending coheres with the basic theme the movie sets up in its opening, and though it is not traditional, it does succeed.
Often when a filmmaker attempts to construct his film solely out of themes, the end result is manipulative and pretentious. But Anderson puts just as much care into his very human characters as he does into his "plot". His story takes place in the "real" world, so when astonishing things happen it's just as stupefying for the characters as it is for us. They exist in their own hectic worlds, never privy to everything that occurs around them. But we see it all, and what it leads up to will only make sense to some of us.
So what is this thing about? It's about our past and how it haunts us no matter how hard we try to escape it, and it's about a redemption that for most never comes. But we expect it to come. Maybe those who react negatively to this film do so because they didn't know what to expect. There is nothing predictable or formulaic about MAGNOLIA. Anderson has brazenly gone in a direction that I think few will comprehend (judging from the plethora of puzzled faces that I noticed, following the screening). Audiences may like being force-fed surprise endings (even if at times they defy logic: THE USUAL SUSPECTS), but when presented with something that is seemingly inexplicable, they would rather dismiss the entire film than put their thinking caps on.
Anderson introduces his intentions with a prologue about chance and coincidence that is so dazzling and free from usual film constrictions, I found myself marveling at its propulsive cleverness. Other scenes left me with the same breathless wonder.
The characters are introduced in a manic ten-minute montage. Jason Robards is an aged producer, plagued with a cancer that is slowly draining the life out of him. Julianne Moore (essentially acting out her BOOGIE NIGHTS coke frenzy scene for the duration of this film) plays his trophy wife. Robards is looked after by a kind, plump nurse, Phil Parama (a slack jawed Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Tom Cruise is Robards' estranged son, a wolfish "self help guru" who instructs horny losers, in a profane workshop on how to pick up chicks. Cruise is constantly over the top screaming out lines like, "Respect the cock!" with such conviction he could be a hopped up Moses relaying the TEN COMMANDMENTS to his people. It's a brave performance, but one that doesn't always work. Cruise has a virtuous little boy voice, and to hear him acting with such macho indignation is a bit like watching David Schwimmer in the Andrew Dice Clay role. Though Cruise does put his trademark grin to good use as a mask of narcissistic endearment; he seems to be saying, "Yeah I'm an asshole, but I'm just too damn charming".
Another character is afflicted with cancer, this one game show host, Jimmy Gator (Phillip Baker Hall). Hall speaks in an urbane, grandfatherly pitch, textured with wisdom and worldliness. He has a likeable demeanor, and as such it's effectively dismaying when we discover his past indiscretions. Gator's pug-nosed, crumpled visage seems to be slowly deteriorating in guilt. He remains estranged from his cokehead daughter, Rose (Melora Walters). Rose is so traumatized by events in her past, that she denies herself any kind of emotional relationship, only engaging in purely sexual ones. This doesn't stop a kind-hearted cop (John C. Reily) from falling for her. If anyone has the most screen time it's Reily, and that's a good thing; the actor is adept at playing naïve, yet admirable characters. Along with Hoffman, Reily offers glimmers of hope amid the human wreckage permeating Anderson's tale.
The Game Show is an old fashioned Quiz show, in which child geniuses' match wits against challenging adults. The current child star is Stanley Spector (an emerald eyed Jeremy Blackman). Spector is idly in the process of becoming estranged from his loutish father. Then finally, there is a jittery William H. Macy as former whiz kid Donnie Smith, now just plain old current loser, Donnie Smith. Anderson shoots this with the same audacious camera motions he employed in BOOGIE NIGHTS. At times he seems too in love with his own film making abilities. He utilizes expansive pans, and whooshing, stylized hand-held movements, simultaneously jacking up the volume on the soundtrack at just the right moment for impact. While that's a sure way to increase the energy in one scene, it becomes a bit exhausting if over done, as is occasionally the case. The film has constant climaxes, realizations, and emotional outbursts all handled relatively well. In one affecting sequence Blackman breaks down on air, directing his malice at Jimmy Gator for heaping so much pressure on innocent children. It's a distressing moment, because the kid has no idea how to convey his feelings; they just come bursting out of him like a flood of pent up sentiments. The reaction is substantially real, and one that thankfully isn't accompanied by a bullying Hollywood score.
Though MAGNOLIA is chock full of great actors (some of whom doing their best work here) it is Anderson who deserves much of the credit. His dialogue and the way the actors use it, is authentic; the characters have a certain middle class vagueness about them. They stutter, stumble over words, and interrupt each other like genuine people. They talk about inconsequential things, and they don't always communicate their emotions in ways that we're used to seeing.
Anderson takes a big chance with this movie; it's not typically mainstream, and not one that even many critics have agreed on. But it's well worth it for adventurous filmgoers. At three hours, MAGNOLIA is a constantly surprising epic that bridges the gap between the believable and the unbelievable.
http://www.geocities.com/incongruity98 Reeling (Ron Small)
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