I’ll give the pandemic this much: it has really allowed me to catch up a bit on the work of directors whose work was always acclaimed but that I never really took the time to look much into before. That’s mostly been true for Richard Linklater of late, but I have also been making an effort for the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Most recently, that was his break-out success, Boogie Nights. And, since it was leaving HBO Max by the end of the month, I figured his follow-up Magnolia was a good next step. A film with a very large cast of familiar faces and a three hour runtime, it certainly looked formidable.
Well, I needed worry about that. This was one of those movies where the three hours just flew on by.
After a series of tales told of coincidental deaths (one of which featured comedian Patton Oswalt as a doomed scuba diver/casino dealer), we get down to the meat of the movie as the plot follows a group of largely unrelated characters. Popular game show host Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall) is dying and trying to get back in touch with his drug addict daughter Claudia (Melora Walters). Wannabe tough guy cop Jim (John C. Reilly) wants respect on the job and to find a good woman. Former kid game show winner Quiz Kid Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) is sad, lonely, broke, and loses his job. Current kid game show host champ Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) is living with a father who sees his son’s success as something to shine glory on himself. Jimmy Gator’s old producer Earl (Jason Robards in his final role) is dying of lung cancer while his much younger wife Linda (Julianne Moore) is feeling guilty about getting his money. Meanwhile, Earl caretaker Phil (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is trying to find Earl’s estranged son so the old man can see him before dying. That son, Michael (Tom Cruise) is a successful pick-up artist coach, instructing men at sold-out shows on the fine art of aggressively picking up women.
That’s a fairly disparate group, and the connections between different people isn’t as obvious as it could be. Macy, for one, spends most of his scenes separated from the rest of the main cast and doing his own thing. It is, of course, as these people move in and out of each other’s orbits that creates the drama and tensions. Can either of the dying men reconcile with their estranged children? Can Jim, Stanley, or Donnie gain some love or respect? Will Claudia or Michael find some sense of closure over their hostile feelings for their parents? And what does all this have to do with the power of coincidence?
Now, having seen some of Anderson’s movies and what the man can do with large casts, it wasn’t much of a surprise that this movie turned out as well as it did. The soundtrack worked, the actors hit all their emotional beats just right, and the way the film moved in and out of each of the characters’ lives was effective and flowed well. Really, on that front, I have no complaints.
That said, there are certain respects in which the movie hasn’t aged well. Jimmy Gator’s dying of cancer might remind some of Alex Trebeck. Officer Jim’s way of handling women and African Americans could come across as police abuse of power. And Cruise’s opening speech wouldn’t have sounded too out of place coming from some very unsavory figures that are far too commonplace today. Granted, in the case of both Jimmy Gator and Michael, there’s a lot more going on with the characters than there initially appears to be, but it was still a bit jarring, and it did affect my appreciation for the movie, though in the end, not that much.
Grade: B+
0 Comments