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Amazon.co.uk Review
This third feature from Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) is a maddening, magnificent piece of film-making, and an ensemble film to rank with the best of Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville)--every little piece of the film means something, solidly placed for a reason. Deftly juggling a breathtaking ensemble of actors, Anderson crafts a tale of neglectful parents, resentful children, and love-starved souls that's amazing in scope, both thematically and emotionally. Part of the charge of Magnolia is seeing exactly how many characters Anderson can juggle, and can he keep all those balls in the air (indeed he can, even if it means throwing frogs into the mix). And it's been far too long since we've seen a film-maker whose love of making movies is so purely joyful. This electric energy is reflected in the actors, from Cruise's revelatory performance to Reilly's quietly powerful turn as the moral centre of the story. While at three hours it's definitely not suited to everyone's taste, Magnolia is a compelling, heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful meditation on the accidents of chance that make up our lives. The soundtrack features eight wonderful songs by Aimee Mann, including "Save Me", around which Anderson built the script. --Mark Englehart
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OMG,
By EmmaH (Dorset, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Magnolia - Single Disc Set (1999) [DVD] (DVD)
I read a lot - at least by most people's standards. And I watch quite a few films. And the vast majority of what I read/watch leaves me feeling just so-so. Take it or leave it. Though now and then I'll think something is good. Maybe very good. Five-stars-out-of-five good.
And then - very, very occasionally - you come across something which is another-order-of-magnitude good. Something which just takes your breath away and doesn't give it back until you turn the last page or watch the closing credits roll up in front of you. And you realise that what it's all been for. That's why you've ploughed through all those novels or sat through all those movies. To get to here. Last year I got there with Victor Pelevin's The Clay Machine Gun. Last night I found myself there again when I watched a film I knew nothing about but had popped on my Lovefilm list after seeing an interesting review. Magnolia. Where was I in 1999 when this was released? What was I doing? How could it possibly have come to a point where, nine years later, I'd never even heard of this film? I won't even try to describe it to you - beyond saying that it follows the interlocking lives of a series of characters in Los Angeles - but it was absolutely captivating. Several minutes into the opening montage I had that feeling of absolute 'rightness'. That sense that there was absolutely nothing in the world I'd rather be doing at this moment than sitting here, laptop propped up on my knees, watching what was unfolding in front of me. And three hours later (yes, it's long, but then, hell, so is War and Peace) I was still captivated. And open-mouthed. Literally. Towards the end my jaw actually dropped, I was so astounded and moved and transfixed by what was happening on the screen. This is a work of consummate genius, at once puzzling and heart-rending and wise and funny and tragic and uplifting. The acting is astonishing. I've never been a particular fan of Tom Cruise but in Magnolia he proves he's more than than just a pretty face with one of the most powerful performances I have ever seen. The musical score is hypnotic, and the frog scene is probably the most dramatic use of special effects in cinema history. If only everything in life were this good.
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Microcosm of what life really is: Amazing.,
By pt.wilson@ukgateway.net (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Magnolia (2 Disc Box Set) [1999] [DVD] (DVD)
It saddens me, and at the same time makes me chuckle slightly, reading the reviews of those that deem this film 'too long', 'boring' and so on. It's not confusing when you realise that the film is about different aspects of life, and the wonderfully uncategorisable people that reside in it. It's a long movie, but its epic scale demand this length. 'The Characters aren't interesting' said one review...well let me say this: if you need a character to be simple, unsophisticated, happy-go-lucky and straight out of the Hollywood back-catalogue, then this might be the case; For those of us that love really intelligent and engaging films, Magnolia hits all the right notes. The singing scene will split audiences down the middle, but it certainly stays in your memory long after the final credits. Infact, the whole film, from each wonderfully rendered character study to the brilliant details such as the biblical allusions of the plague of frogs, is mesmerising. If the film starts rather confusingly, it's purely because the it does SO much in 3 hours. It's not slow moving in terms of emotional intensity or the sheer realism of the astonshing events that make up the lives of those we watch. And the result? - A film that, like American Beauty -far more cinema-friendly for many, I'm sure, (but possibly the inferior movie) explores the amazing details of life, love and death that pervade everyone's existence. I loved it. And if you've got this far in the review, you will too. Buy it. Regards, Peter Wilson (London)Email your views to me!
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"When the sunshine dont work the good lord brings the rain in!",
By
This review is from: Magnolia (2 Disc Box Set) [1999] [DVD] (DVD)
Iv read every review for Magnolia on here folks, and every one of them seem to miss the point(including the 5 star reviews).
I would like to point you all in the right direction.... The number 82 is everwhere in this film....the 3 prologues for example(some 82s are more obvious than others). Hell, theres even a member of the What Do Kids Know? audience with Exodus 8:2 writen on a placard. Which brings me to the reference itself... Exodus 8:2 - "But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs." :o) Given that the movie revolves around a game show that abuses children, and that most of the people involved with that game show abuse children(in many different ways)...a plague of frogs as punishment from "God" is quite fitting. I should add though(being an athiest) that P.T.Anderson does seem to lean toward the natural and scientific explanation for this event.. "A scientific explanation for the phenomenon has been developed that involves waterspouts. In effect, waterspouts are capable of capturing objects and animals and lifting them into the air. Under this theory, waterspouts or tornados, transport animals to relatively high altitudes, carrying them over large distances. The winds are capable of carrying the animals over a relatively wide area and allow them to fall in a concentrated fashion in a localized area."...and this is reflected in his various weather updates during the movie. Dont they say that its the timing of such an event and not the event itself that makes a miracle! I hope this helps...and perhaps gives fans of the movie the chance to watch it again with a fresh perspective.
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