Review of Magnolia (1999) by Kyle20Ellis — 09 Apr 2022

'Magnolia' is perhaps the most polarising of Paul Thomas Anderson's work. A lot of people have found it thought-provoking, emotionally impacting and dazzling in many ways, while many others have found it dull, self-indulgent, bloated and overlong.

This reviewer falls into the former camp. 'Magnolia' perhaps feels indulgently overlong in places, and the final group musical number does feel contrived and out of sorts with the rest of the film. On the whole though 'Magnolia' is a dark, daring and dazzling film, and another winner in a filmography where this reviewer has yet to watch a dud.

All of Anderson's films are visually stunning, and 'Magnolia' has some of the most haunting and scintillating arresting images of any of his films, especially at the end. The long takes and tracking shots are distinctively Anderson and look wonderful, the whole film is beautifully shot, very atmospherically lit and the production design is suitably audacious. The soundtrack is rich in emotion and sticks in the head, and all the song choices are well chosen. Some found it intrusive, not to me.

Regarding the script, it contains some of the most thought-provoking, layered and poignant writing of all Anderson's films. The story has a long length to work with, and doesn't disappoint with the pacing which is a mix of suitably manic and suitably languid when either extreme is needed, unpredictable, beautifully developed, hugely entertaining, dark and often very emotional scenarios and richly layered characters, remarkable for so much going on. Anderson's direction is also exemplary.

Another controversial asset of 'Magnolia' is the ending, something that many will find powerful (again fall into this camp) and others will be perplexed. Whatever extreme you find yourselves, it certainly is not an ending that one forgets easily. Anderson's mastery of direction of actors and their interactions shows through loud and clear, with the whole cast giving superb performances in one-of-a-kind roles, for some among their best.

Tom Cruise in particular has an absolute ball, and he is particularly well supported by a gleefully entertaining and charming John C. Reilly, a touchingly restrained William H. Macy, an as always exemplary Philip Seymour Hoffmann and a heartfelt Julianne Moore. Jason Robards and Melora Walters also do brilliantly.

In conclusion, dark, daring and dazzling. The most polarising of Anderson's films but incredibly well executed, a flawed masterpiece somewhat.