Magnolia - 1999
This is likely the best entirely too long, flagrantly overstuffed (and at times overacted), never still cacophony of connected characters, a bajillion high concept ideas, and raining frogs I've ever seen. At the time, Paul Thomas Anderson said he'd probably go on to make a bunch more films, many of them good, but none would top Magnolia. He was wrong. (Looking at you, Daniel Plainview). But, one thing is for sure: This is one hell of a ride. And it's an incredibly personal artistic creation to boot.
If I could rename Magnolia, I'd call it Cocaine. Because that's about what it's like in terms of sensory impact. Melora Walters is snorting the white stuff on camera, and PTA (and then gf Fiona Apple) were clearly crushing it offscreen. Onscreen, the camera never stops moving. The soundscape, songs, and score are almost themselves a character. They too are frenetic, staccato, and frankly all over the place. In one memorable sequence, they even infiltrate the narrative itself, as the leads break into song lyrics in turn.
There is also deep irony in the performances. The normally surefooted and entirely winsome Julianne Moore is actively bad as Linda Partridge. The pharmacy sequence is a masterclass in how NOT to act, and fails several logic tests as well. Philip Seymour Hoffman is still tremendous, but this is about as subdued as he has ever been onscreen.
Still, the real treat of Magnolia is one Frank T.J. Mackey, played magnificently by a short little star we call Tom Cruise. I've simply never seen Cruise do more in a role. He's brash, chauvinistic, and hamming it up BIG TIME. Yet, he's also nuanced, hiding deep pain, and entirely heartbreaking in one of the best dramatic scenes in recent memory at his father's deathbed. How he doesn't win an Oscar in a year that contains this performance and his turn in Eyes Wide Shut is simply beyond me.
In the end, it's undeniable to me that Magnolia is a deeply flawed film. There are many discussions on editing (like have some!) and the performances are uneven at best. This is more two films than one. But there is power too. And quotes galore. This is no There Will Be Blood. What it is is a time capsule of an artist being given a blank check and the keys to the kingdom and learning that finding his sea legs will simply take some time and self-censoring. His artistic vision was not yet clear in 1999, but how I wish it were so that many other contemporaries would have gone for broke with such audacity.
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