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Mysterio looks at MAGNOLIA
Hey folks, Harry here with Mysterio's look at MAGNOLIA. A brilliant film with far more on it's mind than you will ever read in print. I love this film, but have been digesting it ever since BUTT-NUMB-A-THON.... I've been having to take my time with it because... well I choose to. I'm pondering the significance of the seemingly insignificant details in the film that somehow struck me as being significant in a strange sort of way. I highly recommend this film, and... someday soon I'll be putting my thoughts into print about this film and many others coming soon. But for now, I'll leave it to Mister Cuff-links here.... Mysterio...
“A Menacing Merry Christmas” to you and your readers, Harry. For it’s I, Mysterio materializing back out of your subconscious.
Ahhh, the Christmas season is once again upon us. And oh how I do love this season. People EVERYWHERE! Makes my guise in the daytime much less noticeable. Put a Santa cap on over this bulky globe of mine, and no one seems to even notice. So much so, that I able to partake in a rare afternoon matinee of one of the most astonishing films to come out this year. That film being “MAGNOLIA”, that director being, P.T. Anderson.
Now unfortunately I missed the opportunity to have seen it at “Butt-numb-a-thon”, but I’m fortunate enough to keep residence in the two most crime ridden cities (outside Detroit that is), LA & NY, where it’s playing in limited release before going wide in January.
Having watched P.T. grow and establish himself as a filmmaker over the past years, (mostly from the shadows, although our paths have indeed crossed more than once), it’s easy to see why his films are so huge in scope. He has an indelible energy for films, both his as well as others that’s contagious. He loves the camera; he loves both the visual and audible aspect of his actors in their performances, and most of all he loves storytelling.
Now, I’ve been a big fan of P.T.’s, no make that a HUGE fan, of his since viewing his first work, “HARD EIGHT”.
A small film, but intriguingly, brilliant character piece, showcasing some outstanding performances and giving us an insight at what a wonderful ear for dialog P.T. has as a writer. Not to mention how his dramatic visual style would make leaps and bounds into his next feature, “BOOGIE NIGHTS”.
“BOOGIE NIGHTS” proved to be a hugely over-ambitious film. It proved that P.T. could forge ahead with multiple characters, and story lines, and craft them into an engaging work of film. Clearly, P.T. has done his homework, and references to his idols such as Altman & Scorcese, are definitely in evidence here. Having read the script many months prior to the release of the film, I was bowled over by how easy P.T.’s rather large scripts are to read. Everything is on the page, and the characters are easily identifiable through their given prose. I knew that if P.T. had succeeded in making that script as it read, it would become his calling card to the ranks of a highly respected filmmaker. So respected in fact, that Tom Cruise felt the need himself to be a part, any part, in Anderson’s next film.
Now having loved the script, and finished film for “BOOGIE NIGHTS”, I was overjoyed to have received a copy of “MAGNOLIA”, as far back as last May. But as I began to read into the script, a strange feeling overcame me that caused me to stop within the first 20 pages. It wasn’t the fact that it sucked, or I felt indifferent toward the material, or voices presented on the page. It was just the opposite. I felt that with the knowledge I read within the first 20 pages, I knew too much. I did not want to know any more. I felt this was going to be a wonderful experience that I wanted to visualize on the screen first, so I could be overtaken and manipulated by pure joy and surprise. But this came with reservations. Could it possibly be better than “BOOGIE NIGHTS”? Am I setting my expectations too high, consequently dooming my overall opinion of the film? These were questions that I patiently waited on, until the other day when I would finally get the answers to the questions that I had pondered upon over the past months.
*** SLIGHT SPOILERS DOWN BELOW ***
“MAGNOLIA” opens brilliantly with describing strange past accidents that seem to have happened simply by an odd matter of chance. It’s a perfect setup in describing that theme of chance that inherently segues its way into the basis of events, which surround the main characters that we’re introduced to in the film.
From there, we quickly jump from the past to the present where we meet Anderson’s main cast of characters. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), who’s a dying TV mogul, stricken with cancer, his caring day nurse, Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and his much younger, emotionally, off-balanced wife, Linda (Julianne Moore).
Then we have love struck LAPD cop, Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly) who enjoys helping people and having a “good day” at his job; where a routine call later leads him having a “good day” in meeting Claudia (Melora Walters). Claudia, herself is somewhat a beautiful mess, shutting herself out as far as she can from the world outside, by divulging in a high amount of narcotics and loud music.
We also have TV game show host, Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who hosts a game show for young geniuses who compete intellectually again their adult counterparts. Stanley Spector, is just that one kid whose currently at the point of diminishing the show’s winning record. Then there’s an ex-wiz kid, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), whose become less the wiz after being struck by lightning, and whose life has suddenly become pre-occupied by the notion of having oral surgery for braces, although he has perfect teeth.
And lastly, is Frank “T.J.” Mackey (Tom Cruise) whose wheeling and dealing self-confidence, through his tapes and seminars, to guys who can’t get laid..
These are the characters in a nutshell, but what’s fascinating is that P.T. has expertly crafted and woven an intricate web where each character has a relationship either knowingly or unknowing to one another. Each with their own personal demons, wrought guilt and insecurities that haunt their daily lives.
The focus or rooted tree of the film centers on Robard’s dying character, Earl. It’s from his character’s illness that each other is a branch from his tree, or a branch from another. Each have they’re own distinctive formations, some longer and more emotionally twisted than others, some not.
But the film really marks a triumph in dealing with human tragedy and the hope and redemption that ultimately succeeds and grows from it.
It’s a intriguing 3 hours of character study, watching each character come to a certain point in their lives where each has made a change. This point comes no less in a surprisingly odd, but genius point where each character sings along to Aimee Mann’s hauntingly “Wise Up”. Mann’s songs seem to compliment the film and their scenes so wonderfully, that’s it’s no wonder P.T. used her songs as a template when writing. Her lyrics are simple and ring true.
Performances are outstanding on all levels, but the one that would have to stand out amongst the crowd, because of the high amount of energy displayed in the character, is that of Cruises’. His performance is the one that you’ve waited to hear about in the sense of a “this is Cruise like you’ve never seen him before” quote. It unfortunately didn’t ring true in last summer’s “Eyes Wide Shut”, but by god, this is him at his best, since “Born on the Forth of July”. It’s a striking performance that commands your attention. His T.J. Mackey begins as such a highly wound ball of energy, inside a hard self-made outer shell, that it’s fascinating to watch his character’s shell slowly crack open, revealing the individual that he once was. In one scene where Mackey is being interviewed, he’s assaulted by questions of his past, which he’s not quite ready to face. Feeling forced to say something, he instead just sits there quietly staring, across from his persecutor.
When asked what he’s doing in being non-responsive, his only reply back is, “I’m quietly judging you.” A line that’s said with such power and conviction that the scene just floors you.
It’s my hope that indeed this film finds it’s audience and gets the notice and recognition that it so surely deserves.
The film runs just over 3 hours, and for some may run a bit too long, but it’s a film that demands it. And for those who are patient and willing, “all good things will come to those who wait…”
And by the way, keep your eyes on the skies above when traveling through the San Fernando Valley. Particularly down Magnolia Boulevard.
-Mysterio
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...until that horrific ending. What P.T. Anderson was thinking when he wrote that scene I'll never know, but it damn near ruined the movie for me. Thankfully the very last shot coupled with Aimee Mann's "Save Me" playing in the background reminded me that the good far outweighed the bad. It's still one of the ten best films I've seen all year, but good Lord that ending sucked! BTW, the aforementioned Aimee Mann tune deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song. If the Academy gives it to Phil Collins, I'm gonna be pissed!
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This film was so amazing I had to see it again within a few days. There were nuances I didn't pick up on before, particularly in the acting, but also in Anderson's sly use of symbolism throughout the film...as far as the ending is concerned, NO SPOILERS HERE, you take what you want from it. It is almost a Hitchcock "macguffin", and to scoff at its use is rather besides the point. What matters is that all the characters are forced to do SOMETHING. What causes that is really irrelevant. If you can't handle something that hasn't been done before, or is otherworldly to you, then stop going to films by creative directors. The best films are always the ones that pose more questions than answers (yet another opportunity here to mention Spielberg's shortcomings), and P.T. is still, what, 29? He would be presumptuous if he thought he could sum everything up in a neat little package. He, like the characters at the end, like most of us, have a long way to go and a lot to learn. I think this film is a nudge in the right direction. And that's all you can ask for. The inventiveness and heart of this film is something that puts it slightly above American Beauty in my book, even though I personally related heavily to the latter because of its wake up! message. AB was funnier too, but this film contains the best performances of the year, just no major ones. They should give a special Oscar to all the featured performers in this film. And maybe a couple regular ones for P.T. Anderson.
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anyone know of the UK release date?
can't wait to hear PT Anderson's dvd commentary for this baby, yeah! -
The provisional UK release date is March 3, according to the latest issue of Empire. And as for the 'surprise' ending of the film - well, I'm not that bothered about spoilers myself, so I've read about the ending of Magnolia in a bunch of reviews on the net. Now, I would never give away the ending of a film to anybody who didn't want to know. But with Magnolia, it's a bit difficult given that THEY'VE GIVEN THE ENDING AWAY ON THE FUCKING MOVIE POSTER. Doh! Why does the marketing department get to DO shit like that? There are posters all over London at the moment for Sleepy Hollow, with Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and CHRISTOPHER WALKEN on them. Doh! Wasn't he supposed to have a SURPRISE cameo? Isn't that why he's UNCREDITED? Aaargh! It's like if they released Citizen Kane and put Kane's sled on the poster, or if they put wings on Bruce Willis on the Sixth Sense poster, or Gwyneth Paltrow was a headless horseman on the Seven poster.
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Well, I think you've just let the cat out of the bag. The image on the poster is, of course, heavily related to the end of the film, but there's no context; frogs appeared in all the teaser material and it was kind of an intriguing image. But I don't think that it spoils the ending at all; it's only after seeing the film and knowing how the frogs figure in that you can look at the poster and understand it...
More generally speaking, Magnolia has rocketed to the no. 3 position in my Top Ten of 99. An incredible film. It did feel a tad long, but thinking back on it there's not a single scene I'd do without... -
It's funny how every single last review of "Magnolia" begins with the reviewer saying just how much he has loved Paul Thomas Anderson from the very, very beginning. It reminds me of a book party David Bowie threw a few years ago when his publishing house published their first book, a collection of paintings by a very obscure artist. At the party, Bowie and crew went around the NYC art circle talking and chatting with people about the artist and interviewing all the local scene-sters about how they felt about the artist. Of course, they fawned over the guy and told Bowie when they'd first encountered the artist's work. Well, at the end of the night, he revealed that the artist never really existed, that he had made it all up, and the book was a complete hoax.
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The movie is 3 hours long, and I started feeling it before things kick-started again.
The "song"?!? I feel kinda mixed about it. I understand what he was going for, but it felt like PT was swinging for a home run and it blooped into right field for a single. The audience I was with was along with me, feeling everything else was incredible enough to let that one go. Took balls though.
William H. Macy is just so damn good. -
with every talkbacker getting a hard on for Mangolia, American Beauty etc,,,good thing this web site wasn't up years ago, otherwise you would all be ranting and raving about Terms of Enderment, or proclaiming Steel Magnolias as the best film of all time.
Get some balls... -
Is it my imagination or does SALON hate every movie that comes out? Has anyone read this review? Yeesh. Consider the last sentence of the Magnolia review: "Anderson was better off dealing with what goes into the mouths of babes than what comes out of them." A cheap shot at the writer/directer AND a blowjob reference -- all in one sentence! Whoohoo! I think that qualifies as brilliance in Movie Critic Land. We're witnessing someone at the very top of his game. That someone also has a bad case of hipster cynicism. When God comes back on Jan. 1, He and His army of shillelagh-toting leprechauns will seek out and destroy all such annoyingly hip reviews. They'll also destroy all bumper stickers, politicians, radio morning guys, hip-hop artists who can't play an instrument, and local news anchors. That's my opinion, anyway.
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When are you neophyte, hanger-on, teenage losers who claim to know anything about film going to figure out that Paul Thomas Anderson, excuse me - "P.T." is the biggest fraud working in town today. This is a man who says in Entertainment Weekly that he's "never read a screenplay book before" among other idiotic comments that are an embarrassment to professional screenwriters and directors around the world. Anderson's films are art for art's sake and that just doesn't cut it when $20-50 million budgets are on the line. He has yet to craft a coherent narrative in ANY of his films. "Hard Eight" introduces us to an intriguing world of cards and conmen, but ultimately becomes a convoluted mess midway through the film. The resolution is anti-climactic at best. This also happens in "Boogie Nights", but Anderson is saved by his cast. Which is part of the snow job. Anderson, I think, KNOWS that he can't write or direct but has a great gift at schmoozing publicists and actors to cover his ass. Don't you buy it either.
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Who cares if Anderson says stupid things in his interviews? He's an artist, we're supposed to care about his art not his publicity statements. Is it the actors that made Magnolia one of the most beautifully shot and rhythmically composed movies this year? No, of course not.
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The movie was good, not great. The performances were, however, outstanding. Can anyone please tell me the significance of The person wearing the hooded jacket both when the SPOILERS AHEAD man is found dead in the closet and when John C. Reily's character loses his gun? Im a little confused
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Anderson's not nearly as good as he thinks he is. Any guy dating fiona apple has to have a few screws loose. This pretentious 3-hour over-edited montage mess sucks. That's three hours i could have spent clipping my toenails.
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Harry where's the second half of the update you promised? I was there but wanted to read your take on everything. I liked magnolia but loved pitch black. How cool was it that Vin Deisel came to Austin for a 3am screening? He was the coolest!!
To stay and sign photos for every single person there, thats just something you don't see much of. -
Sorry I wanted to like it, I really did but was it necessary to linger of Melora Waters cracked up face for like what seemed like a enternity at the end then a fade out??? I didn't get it, Maybe I just did not want to get it, aside from a just a few brilliant scenes the whole movie was boring! Hey and I am a big fan of P.T.A.
Angelas Ashes and Any Given Sunday were just as long, so was Ride With The Devil, but they didn't feel half as long as Magnolia. I did not connect with any of the charecters and most of them were just plain annoying. Magnolia will die a quick death. -
1. hideous kinky
2. eyes wide shut
3. magnolia
runner ups....limbo and green mile -
1) In regard's to Homer's message, where he talked shit not ONLY about MAGNOLIA and AMERICAN BEAUTY, but STEEL MAGNOLIAS:
Fuck you, you filthy pigfucking cunt.
2) In regard's to the section of Homer's message where we were told to all get some balls:
You don't think that MAGNOLIA has balls? The movie takes chances that no other movie has in years. I not only think that its the best movie of the year, but I think its one big fuck up the ass to traditional film-making.
...and by the way, what make for a good movie, Homer?
-joe
p.s. merry christmas, everybody!
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Oh my god! In my last message, I talked a great deal of shit about HOMER, but it WASN'T him who posted the message that rubbed my rubarb the wrong way, it was SCOTT! Sorry, homer! I still love ya!..... and scott- you're the bitch.
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Hey does anyone know if Warner Bros is going to exclude the digital people and furniture during the orgy scene so that it is in its entirity the way that Kubrick wanted it to be? Maybe this question will actually get answered unlike my Magnolia one before.
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This is due out on March 3rd no news if it will be a limited releses like the US (unlikely).
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Dec 23, 1999 6:19:18 PM CST
love Magnolia or hate it, but see it! Drama is a dying artform
by fatal discharge
If MAGNOLIA fails to find an audience as happened to THE INSIDER, I have a feeling studios will stop gambling on making serious adult dramas. I thought this site contained actual movie fans but judging by the disappointing posts here, the young-male segment of the movie audience which controls the success of films today is determined to see dramas fail. Hey, I love horror, gross-out comedies, big budget sci-fi and action also but believe me if those are the only films that succeed at the box office then that's all the studios will give you. As my taste developed so did my love for cinema as art but the movie business has changed from a distributor of art to a business of making money pandering to mass audience appeal. Human character dramas are already relegated mostly to september to december to qualify for Oscar time but seem to be disappearing very fast and headed only to arthouse theatres and cable tv. I hate people who mean-spiritedly attack a film that has obvious intelligence even if it is not your cup of tea. Roger Ebert's condemning of BLUE VELVET still makes my blood boil. True film artists are supposed to move audiences emotionally, awe them visually or challenge them intellectually and illicit strong opinions (like a FIGHT CLUB does), not only provide them with an entertaining way to pass the time (although there's nothing wrong with that too). To attack a movie so harshly like MAGNOLIA, even before it opens, may serve someone's ego but it only hurts movie fans if someone actually ends up not watching and making up their own mind because of it!
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I've read all the comments here, good and bad, but I'm still going to see this movie. I'm not a PTA fanatic. I think he has a good eye for shots and good ear for dialogue. And just from the little I've seen in the previews, Cruise is ten times better in this than he was in EYES WIDE SHUT. In EWS, he seemed to just sleepwalk through the role. In this, he looks like he's trying and succeeding. But I thought I heard somewhere either yesterday or today that PTA was cutting it down a tidge? Also, I liked AMERICAN BEAUTY, but not enough to say it was the best of the year. Did anyone else think that the story around Spacey's daughter was more interesting than his? I think I'm alone on that point. For me, best pic of the year is a tie between INSIDER and FIGHT CLUB, with MAN ON THE MOON, GO, and DOGMA coming in close behind.
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After driving 4 hours round trip to see this film I can say that it was well worth it! It is a movie that, if you're taking it in properly, just envelopes you, surrounds you, in the stories and the characters. It appears that people are falling into two camps after seeing Magnolia: "love it" or "hate it." For a great example, see Ebert's TV review with the taste-less guest reviewer from a Boston TV station. Ebert loved it, the guest hated it. I feel sorry for those who don't "get" this movie because they are one-dimentional, tortured souls who are missing out on a truely outstanding experience!
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Honey, who the fuck are you calling one -dimensional and tortured. With a name like yours I would "ZIP IT!!!!!!!"
I loved all the other serious "Adult" Dramas. I have many sides to my taste and just cause I did not "GET IT" I got it all right, all 3 fucking hours of it and my ass hurts! But it hurts more when people like you verbally butt fuck it so Merry X-mas and Have a Fucked up New Years! Remember Austin Powers! Report everything suspicious Bitch!!!
(Just kidding, yer cool, I just thought I might copy some of these other poor tortured one dimensional souls that posted earlier....Must Everyone have a potty mouth for X-mas??
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I'll start by saying that I am completely in love with Magnolia, and have nothing but admiration for PT Anderson. But instead of trying to force-feed that opinion to everyone else, I'm just going to respong to the udder idiot, emerald eyes above who blasted PTA for making films for art's sake. Wake up, dude, except for yourself, maybe Michael Bay, and those two goofy ID4/Godzilla guys, FILM IS AN ART FORM. Wow, but saying you've never read a screenplay book is an idiotic comment, huh? I guess maybe you haven't caught on, but Syd Field is NOT a screenwriter. The guy does not sell scripts. Yet, he seems to think he can tell the industry how to. Hmmm, who's the fraud? C'mon, I've read my share of Screenwriting books, and they're crap! Field says himslef in his Screenplay book that he didn't get Chinatown until he saw it repeatedly. Can we say "MORON?" And by the way, Hard Eight was a bit of a mess, but if you had a clue what you were talking about you would know that it's because the studio took it away from him and recut it because they didn't like the results from test screenings. Anyway to sum this all up, I can't argue with anyone who says they didn't like Magnolia and states why. But when "proffesional screenwriters and directors" like you (let's play a little game called: BULL-SHIT) insist on making personal attacks...well let's just say you're mocking what you don't understand. It's above your head.
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Well 99 was definatley a good year for debate, This was a year where flicks like "Magnolia, Fight Club, Blair Witch, Eyes Wide Shut" all caused a stir in everyones blood. We should all be thankful for the kick ass flicks this year whether we hated it or not! What one may consider "Genius" some may look at it and want to flush it. Hey I hated Fight Club upon the first viewing, but a few days later I saw it again and thought "WOW! What a fucking Masterpiece!' Sometimes your mood, comforts, and mentality really effects the way we watch movies. Last night I saw "Any Given Sunday" I liked it but I sat in the 2nd row, center and the movie pummeled me into submission! Magnolia will be a movie that down the road, people that were harsh about it will soften up. I find it fascinating to read talk-backs to find out why some hated what and loved that! I love sites like "Rotten Tomatoes"
What I hate is the the Jerry Springer/7th grade Jr. High School Mentality that sometime Talk Backs give birth to but hey who the hell am I trying to kid right? It's like going to the movies, you'll always have that jerk in the corner, waiting in the dark....fangs sharpened....
Merry X-mas everyone and last but not least! Oliver Stone did not need to put that shot of that droopy hung dark horse penis in ANy Given Sunday, that was definatly a visual I could live without!!! -
If you don't believe in "art for art's sake," for what sake should art be done? Money's sake? Geeks' sake? Monosylabic sitcom watchers' sake? Just wondering.
And if a writer/director isn't indulging himself, who should he indulge? The studio's PR department? His agent? The teamsters? Magnolia is an incredible movie whose characters are vivid and well developed yet still mysterious enough to leave the viewer thinking (at least, the thinking viewers, that is) long after seeing it. -
Dec 24, 1999 2:47:44 AM CST
Syd Field should belong in the humor section of your bookstore
by lester diamond
For Christmas a few years ago, I got one of those "I hear you want to be a filmmaker when you grow up, so the man at the store said this would be good" gifts from my aunt. It was Screenwriting by Syd Field. After somehow getting through the entire thing, I realized this man is absolutely full of shit. He has never written a screenplay, but worked as a reader at some obscure mobile production company. What do readers do *almost* all the time? Look for what would sell. So that is what Syd teaches you through the course of his book. He babbles on about the god-foresaken three act structure and his PARADIGM for a good script. This bastard tells you what page your third act should begin on! I wish I could list all the hilarious quotes this guy supplies. "Adapting a novel, book, play, or article into a screenplay is the same as writing an original screenplay." No scenes should be over four minutes. "Your story should be executed in action, not flashback...avoid them." Did Preston Sturgess need screenplay books? Did Robert Towne? Then I guess P.T.A. doesn't either. I guess I want a bit of originality, instead of every single movie being the same. I don't want to be able to time when a plot point will come. Fuck Syd Field. P.T.A. is one of the best screenwriters around, and he didn't need this nonsense. I'm glad somebody mentioned this guy, so I can burn this book.
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No that's not what I said...you're free to dislike it but what's the point in attacking it in a public forum if not to hurt it? I'm just saying let people make up their own minds. And if you look at the last five years what dramas have made over $100 million? Studios see this fact and make less and less of them. American Beauty is a modest success that was partly due to the studio marketing it to teens also.
OK, I haven't seen MAGNOLIA yet but I'm wondering if those who are criticizing it for being rambling and too long have ever seen Robert Altman's masterpiece SHORT CUTS. It interweaves multiple storylines, awesome acting, comic and dramatic story arcs in moments of fate, coincidence and finally the unpredictability of life. I think MAGNOLIA is trying to achieve something like this, whether it actually does or not. -
All this love it or hate it reaction just goes to show that PT knows what he's doing. Even if the audience doesn't.
I myself don't think it was entirely successful but God bless him for being ambitious. The best review I've seen of this is David Denby's in The New Yorker. Its mixed but he says something like 'many people have bad movies that they love. This is a rare thing... a great terrible movie' (or something like that.)
For me the ballsy stuff paid off really well, especially the true emotional climax (the sing-a-long part) which was miraculous.
For all of his talents, Anderson's greatest is his rapport with actors. Only a director who could inspire total trust and psychic rapport in his actors -could have pulled that off! The movie probably should have closed shortly after that, imho, but sometimes you just have to let the great ones be self indulgent. Sure its messy...but its alive!
Three complaints though:
1. what is with his homophobia? Boogie Nights and Magnolia both contain a pathetic unattractive gay man crying about nobody loving them or some such shit. Very depressing and unevolved.
2. what was with the murder storyline disappearing halfway through. Its not that that was a great story but none of the other balls were dropped.
3.Anderson's recent comment that Magnolia is 'unquestionably the best movie I will ever make.' Seems like he and Fiona really do have a lot in common. They're both extraordinarily talented and they both give ridiculous soundbite. -
Let me begin this short piece with a quote from the man himself, PT Anderson. When asked why he felt it necessary to make "Magnolia" 3 hours long, he replied - "We seriously set out to make a great film." Hmm...interesting. Not only is he full of himself (after all, he can just decide to make a GREAT film), but he also assumes that great filmmaking has something to do with running time.
This presumption is apparent whenever watching an Anderson film - he simply drags out simple stories for as long as he can, hoping that if they're given enough time, something interesting will develop. In "Boogie Nights," the story really doesn't go anywhere, so he ties up all the loose ends with random violence and a shot of a prosthetic penis.
In "Magnolia," we're given perhaps the most lame, ridiculous, bizarre and silly conclusion to any drama I think I've ever seen. Ebert hailed the nonsense that comes at the 2.75 hour mark as brilliant because of how unpredictable it is. I say that if you come up with something stupid enough, it will be unpredictable simply because no one would have predicted you'd be so dumb.
The problem here is that Anderson has written a bunch of stories that might have been interesting, but doesn't have a sense of where they're going or why he's telling them. He just likes to paint little vignettes of interesting characters, make them cry a whole lot, and then just leave you stranded without any sense of meaning or closure.
I think the reason so many people have been suckered into thinking "Magnolia" is brilliant is due to the first 20 minutes. Any movie brazen enough to begin with examples of how unique, iconoclastic and innovative it is naturally causes some of the weaker-minded to assume that the movie's telling them the truth. Unfortunately, his intriguing opening proves to be all talk, and PT doesn't deliver half of what his prologue promises.
If you want to go see a good drama to close off the year, see "Cradle Will Rock," or better yet, see "American Beauty" twice or three times. These are films that really have something to say, instead of just attempting to depress audiences with senseless morbidity and nonsense.
Lonnie -
How does PTA stating that he was "setting out to make a great film" make him arrogant? All artists INTEND to create great works of art, some succeed, some fail. What point would there be to only set out to make something mediocre? Statement of intent does not make someone arrogant.
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the poster sucks, the reviews all preach the same gospel: PTA is the greatest, it's a great character study, it's over three long, and frogs fall out of the sky, it's like Robert Altman. And surprise Julianne Moore is probably showing less than in SHORT CUTS. Will somebody please tell me who actually enjoyed it why I should see this movie that really looks like a piece of artistic sh*t. I assume the people are like petals, who all join together to produce one beautiful, fragrance. There's only one fragrance this MAGNOLIA smells of? Artistic, ego bullsh*t.
And if it's so great how come Michael Shaye for close to 30 years, the wiz behind New Line doesn't get it? (As reported in the Sunday Times magazine). reading that article is a hoot. -
But what makes "great" art? You're very correct in your statement that, basically, the artist's goal is to express something about the human condition. It's the level of truth, clarity and ingenuity in this expression that is the qualifying factor in deciding its worth as "art." The greater and more original the concept, focus, and creativity, the greater the work. I believe that ANY artist strives for these qualities in their work, whatever the final outcome. The artist's desire to express emotion AND create great work to do it are, in my opinion, inextricably linked; without the desire to create powerful, unique, and therefore "great" art, there's nothing to drive the artist forward. And to the poster above who asked why he should see Magnolia I answer: when our screens are clogged with worthless crap like Deuce fucking Bigalow, why WOULDN'T you want to see something that is thoughtful and audacious?
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I treated myself to this movie on X-mas, and was blown away. Amazing, brilliant, thought provoking- all those fucking cliches. One of my favorites of the year. Who cares if P.T. is an asshole? I'll most likely never meet him, don't really care to. Just as long as he keeps making great films, I'll be a fan.
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Seriously, a masterpiece. Not, it wasn't "perfect" but that was kind of the point - what and who is perfect? Nothing and no one! I would love to ramble on about why I loved this movie, why I thought it was easily better than SHORT CUTS and HAPPINESS (the films it will most likely be compared to), why it completely blew me away and was leagues above any film I've seen all year, why I could see why people would hate it, why anyone who's having some shite go down in their life or just hasn't dealt with the shite that went down should avoid this - but there's no time - NO TIME! But this should be a hot topic for awhile at least. Everyone was standing around outside the theater, talking madly, either hating it or loving it and finding little in between. Well, I loved it! This takes the #1 spot from STRAIGHT STORY, which was a masterpiece of simplicity - while MAGNOLIA is a masterpiece of complexity.
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Can anyone tell me what was up with the 3 or 4 references to the Mason's in the film? First there was the "History of the Freemasons" book on Stanley's table in the library. Then there was the pinkie ring worn by the game show producer, clearly visible when the host was standing before the curtain and the producer had his hand on the host's shoulder. Then there was te Masons symbol on the game show set, amidst the other symbols in blue. Finally, I believe there was a large picture in Robards' house that had the symbol in it.
What gives? -
Yeah, I noticed all the Masonic stuff too. Plus, Ricky Jay, the producer who's wearing the Masonic ring, was also the narrator, perhaps implying that he is somehow omniscient...?
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Have a look at what I just found....www.magnolialodge.com.... COINCIDENCE?!?
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Sorry, that should have been: www.magnolialodge.org
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If you havent seen Magnolia, don't take any hints from this post before seeing the movie. However, the several Exodus 8:2 messages scattered throughout the movie on billboards, windows, etc piqued my interest enough to jot it down an hour into the movie. Had I known the passage, it would have spoiled the surprise ending. However, reading it after the movie was over certainly summed up what I was having a hard time putting into words. Certainly not a movie for the masses but for those who enjoy character development and patience.
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I wasn't too jazzed about Magnolia until I saw the trailer on Coming Attractions on E! I thought it was a great trailer and wondered if the flick could be as good... it is IMHO. Maybe it is because I am having a terrible month in a terrible year and I do live in L.A. so I could relate more. My advice to most, see it. It is one of the year's best. Cruise is fantastic, John C. Reilly as LAPD cop Jim Kuring and Melora Walters are outstanding. I related to a lot of the pressures these guys felt and I highly recommend it. Maybe another test if you will like Magnolia is the trailer. The movie is exactly like the trailer. It cuts between all the characters rapidly. As for Altman's Short Cuts.... I didn't care for it. As for the people knocking PTA .... why not just knock the movie... you won't see the EW interview while you watch Magnolia.
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MAGNOLIA show's what's wrong with the Academy Awards and how, for in a perfect world, each and every cast member of Magnolia would be invited on stage to receive some kind of merit badge for distinction in performance. If someone has to win, I reckon it will be ol' Tombo Cruise, stealing Best Supporting Actor from John Malkovich, Christopher Plummer and The Sixth Sense kid. He deserves it though. I've never ever been a fan of Cruise, but here he really steals this show - in a role written for him by PTA no less - he steals the show from the most talented collection of actors and actresses in some of the best-writtten/directed performances of the decade. I guess all those acting lessons with the late Kubrick paid off. But everyone in Magnolia is amazing, everyone.
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Predicting the outcome of the Academy Awards gets easier every year once you get hip to the "criteria" applied by most voters (The last two years I've taken obscene amounts of money away from my friends in our annual Oscar pool). I reckon Magnolia will walk away with Best Picture, and perhaps Best Director. Cruise will almost certainly win Best Supporting Actor, if not Best Actor (his role isn't central to the film, but Geoffrey Rush took Best Actor for Shine even though his screen time accounted for only a third of the film). For all of Magnolia's detractors: sure, the film isn't perfect, but since I saw it a couple of weeks ago it hasn't left my thoughts, and the more I discuss it with people, point out details to them that were overlooked and have others pointed out to me, and we share our interpretations, the more I appreciate it as a very, very sophisticated film. Try doing that with End Of Days or The Bachelor or somesuch junk.
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And not to mention the subversive genius in the casting of Tom Cruise; an international sex symbol portraying a misogynist character that is nothing less than monstrous to women...
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DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT PLOT LINES REVEALED. Saw Magnolia at a preview, and all in all I really liked it. Sort of a "Short Cuts" and "Grand Canyon" mix. I liked the singing (sort of like a play), but he lost me on the frogs. I know the story of Exodus and the plagues...Someone, PLEASE EXPLAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE (i'm not that intellectually stunted, but I need some other opinions here...).
Weren't the plagues PUNISHMENT from g-d so that the slaves would be let free? A few characters were "bad" but why would the abused girl, abused genius, etc deserve punishment. The redemption theory doesn't wring true to me. -
To me, the frogs weren't meant to symbolize anything. They were another bizarre occurance, similar to the scuba diver in the tree. A moment of surrealism, to see how the characters would react. And, just as we Los Angeleans rode out the fires and floods and earthquakes and riots of the Nineties, so too do these Valley denizens shrug off a million frogs plummeting down from the heavens.
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He won't win what have you been smoking?
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Not smoking a single thing, me lad. I just have a history of being able to predict this stuff. We'll see on Oscar night...
(BTW, even though I loved the movie and thought Cruise's performance was excellent, if a little overshadowed by his celebrity, don't overlook the very important fact that winning the award does NOT necessarily one deserves it.) -
That should have read "...not necessarily MEAN one deserves it."
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Jim Carrey has a much better chance of winning then Cruise does. I can only see him getting a supporting nom. if that.
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MQBlank, I think you were wrong about Ebert's take on Magnolia. It's number two on his top ten of '99, following Being J.M.
"Exodus 8:2: 'And if thou shalt refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs.' Don't think Prince of Egypt, think parent/kidlet relationships." -Courtesy of the Cranky Critic.
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Actually, if you read my earlier post, I said that Cruise would most probably take the Best Supporting nod, but I do think there is a small chance he'll get nominated for Best Actor. Carrey luckily has the "previously deserving but unjustly ignored" factor going for him, so he'll definitely be at least nominated for Best Actor.
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Weird...things are being posted out of sequence...see the incorrectly-positioned post above entitled "Cruise Control" for my latest word on the situation (if you even give a toss).
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thanks reverto. maybe you are right, its just another bizarre incident. i could beleive the scuba diver story, bizarre as it was, but its a stretch for me to beleive it would rain thousands of frogs. being from the midwest, maybe i can't relate to the wierd LA happenings.
tom cruise may get a nomination for suuporting character (not a win). -
They are perfectly suited for each other--each rambles on and on and calls the result "art." PT Anderson tries to make a statement, but it turns out that he has nothing much to say. He is pure style over substance, and "Magnolia" is more like "Eyes Wide Shut" than he or Tom Cruise would probably care to admit. Just like Fiona, with her "let's put my therapy sessions to music!" approach. Except she's a better writer than PT. I wonder what their sex is like.
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First he uses "Boogie Nights" to rip off "Goodfellas" (except for the final scene which ripped off "Raging Bull"). Now he uses "Magnolia" to rip off Altman's "Short Cuts". I think some like Anderson's work because he caters to what Roger Ebert called the "geek cinema" crowd - meaning that he knows his audience is a bit more adolescent than either Scorsese's or Altman's. The rest of us will be content to get a good laugh watching others gush over Anderson's work.
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i didn't want to see this movie, but I'm glad I did. It's very enjoyable, full of lots of good pieces like:
--Tom Cruise's sex-help guru seminars are a riot
--Julianne Moore's blowout temper in the pharmacy
--the game show
--the frogs falling out of the sky. This was one sequence I was expecting the worst. It's brillian and seems to get better the more it happens.
The film confirms P T Andersen as a gifted filmmaker of our times. He had free rein with this movie because New Line Cinema wanted a Tarantino.
There are problems with it which may hurt it at the box office and prevent it being Best Picture, although in terms of originality it's up there with THE FIGHT CLUB.There's a lot of people's lives to follow, and that's actually much easier than you'd think, and how they intercept. The key to this movie is they are all affected by television being made on Magnolia Street in the Valley. And since Andersen is a Catholic, each character has the opportunity for confession and absolution. Those who take it get another day. Those who don't go to hell. 82% chance of damn hot.
We at www.greenlightscafe.com were reluctant to see it before. I pleaded for someone to give me one good reason to see. I'm going right now to see it a second time. That's my big reason.Enjoy it. Michael deLuca trusted his instincts and it paid off
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"And if thou shalt REFUSE to let [them] go, behold I will smite all thy borders with frogs". God threatens Pharoah to let the Jews go. Here it's used more for threatening anyone hankering the past, being consumed by it, being destroyed by it; for those people it's a wake-up call, confess the past and let it go. Only then do you gain the freedom to live the rest of your life, or for Catholics, until the next confession and release of blame, guilt. This is what it means
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Great characters. Way too long!! I love long movies that have an outstanding ending and this really did not. Cruise's best performance though. If the goal of this movie was to annoy and bore, then it was great, but honestly I couldn't wait for them to wrap it up so I could go to bed.
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This film contained so much symbolism and inside jokes I could see it ten times (if I could stand that) and still not catch all of it. Did anyone see the Charles Fort book on the table at the library? It's pretty early in the film and combined with the movie poster left no surprise in the ending. (If you're not familiar with Fort, check out http://www.forteantimes.com/ especially the "Breaking News" section if you like weird stories) I didn't get the significance of the Mason stuff, neither did I understand the murder mystery and the child's "prophecy." Did anyone? After I saw Magnolia, I felt the same as the first time I read Wuthering Heights: "I can't believe I went through all of that pain for characters I don't even like." It's not totally without worth. There are flashes of genius throughout. But for me they were overshadowed. The movie's technically amazing, as the editing of all the separate stories, choppy at first, begins to flow. The intensity of one scene moves directly into the next unrelated scene. It's not on my Oscar list, but I'm buying the soundtrack.
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This film is typical of many recent offerings. It is not so much a movie as a collection of terrific scenes from an acting class. It's not boring but a little bity of classical structure (i.e., beginning, middle, end) sure wouldn't hurt. And by the way - FROGS???
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i cant believe that everyone on the planet didnt fucking LOVE this movie with every fiber of their being. was it long? yes. was it a lil confusing? yes. but was it an amazing beautiful masterpiece that makes u fall in love with every character? GOD YES!!! it was three hours long and when it was over i was begging for more! It was hard to watch at times but thats because it possesed the same quality of realness that american beauty did. another movie that was amazing. i love this movie. i will never understand people that didnt
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*sits and stares*
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1999 eh....my god, I have to tell my past self not to watch Wild Wild West
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film nirvana
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you one crazy sumbitch.
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May 14, 2008 11:03:09 AM CDT
In the immortal words of Rocky Balboa
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
GO FOR IT!!!!!!!
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Whatcha gonna do?
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Cool. It really is a great movie. I love it when these ancient talkbacks resurface, the best was the second coming of the Blade II talkback.
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Shit man I know what you mean about not working. I feel like my thumb and ring finger are going to get stuck in the Alt+tab position, fucking cubicles!
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I wanna be a part of it!!!
here's my grain of sand lol you go guys!!! -
...for a single individual poster to spam a board on to the top ten posts list. Interesting experiment, though I hope it doesn't spawn any imitators.
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Why didn't they go tell Luke to visit Yoda straight away? Stupid Jedi and their council of suck.
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I once moved the "X-Files II" title spam thread from off the charts up to #10 on a slow Saturday night. But this, this is awesome. Pointless, but if any movie deserves the honor, it's this one. Or Dogma. or Freeway.
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What a film.
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Anyone else think Alec Guinness would be incredibly pissed off if he realised the kindly old man he played in ANH was actually someone who cut off his best friends limbs and left to slowly burn to death on a fricking volcano planet?
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to resurrect? I love Magnolia, but content-wise, what about Harry's review of Urban Legend that if I recall involved Rebecca Gayheart, a pickle barrel, and some inappropriate touching.
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To think that talkbacks way back in 2000 were so minimal... and now we have so, SO many more people...
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which I revisited last week during the Indy nonsense, and it still takes the cake for craziest thing a person ever got submitted here.
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Seriously, do it. Bring him back to AICN.
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Well, we can say that best friend had it coming
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Now really, does anyone else think Han Solo is the worst pilot in the entire galaxy?
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how can I find this masterpiece?
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How? Jedi are NOT meant to use emotion in a fight, yet Obi Wan used rage, sadness, and the high ground to slay his best friend? What an absolute ass.
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