Magnolia
3 Oscar Nominations
Rent/Purchase
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
What critics thought
Anderson's three-hour mosaic of interlocking Los Angeles lives earned strong critical admiration on release and has only grown in reputation since, but the fault lines were real: most critics marveled at the filmmaking ambition and the ensemble work, while a vocal minority felt the film's operatic reach exceeded its grasp, particularly in its final hour. Tom Cruise's performance drew near-universal praise across the divide. Notably, audiences at the time were far cooler on the film than critics.
“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”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“In the case of Magnolia, I think Mr. Anderson has taken us to the water's edge without plunging in. I admire his ambition and his very eloquent camera movements, but if I may garble something Lenin once said one last time, 'You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs'.”
Andrew Sarris·The New York Observer
“It's with Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey, a slick televangelist of penis power, that the filmmaker scores his biggest success, as the actor exorcises the uptight fastidiousness of Eyes Wide Shut ... Like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, this cautiously packaged movie star is liberated by risky business”
Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorPaul Thomas Anderson
StarringTom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy
ComposerJon Brion
Magnolia
3 Oscar Nominations
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
What critics thought
Anderson's three-hour mosaic of interlocking Los Angeles lives earned strong critical admiration on release and has only grown in reputation since, but the fault lines were real: most critics marveled at the filmmaking ambition and the ensemble work, while a vocal minority felt the film's operatic reach exceeded its grasp, particularly in its final hour. Tom Cruise's performance drew near-universal praise across the divide. Notably, audiences at the time were far cooler on the film than critics.
“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”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“In the case of Magnolia, I think Mr. Anderson has taken us to the water's edge without plunging in. I admire his ambition and his very eloquent camera movements, but if I may garble something Lenin once said one last time, 'You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs'.”
Andrew Sarris·The New York Observer
“It's with Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey, a slick televangelist of penis power, that the filmmaker scores his biggest success, as the actor exorcises the uptight fastidiousness of Eyes Wide Shut ... Like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, this cautiously packaged movie star is liberated by risky business”
Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorPaul Thomas Anderson
StarringTom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy
ComposerJon Brion
Rent/Purchase