Magnolia

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
R	for strong language, drug use, sexuality and some violence
Starring Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly

Reviewer: Pete Luisi-Mills

I once read an amazing story about a man who got run over by a motorcycle after walking out of a hotel. The amazing part is that it happened twice-exactly one year apart to the date, at the same time, coming out of the same hotel, hit by the same man on the same motorcycle. And the same person came up to help him afterward. And the doctor who was called in was the same doctor that treated him previously.

Things like this really do happen -- coincidences so extreme we can scarcely believe it's chance...but of course, we could hardly think it was fate, either. That's the fun thing about truly anomalous situations: firm believers in a random, chaotic universe find it hard to sleep at night and hide under the covers, and those who believe God ordains and footnotes everything wrack their brains trying to think up a "reason" why He would go to the trouble of something so intricate and trivial.

"Magnolia" does not deal with such coincidences, although it begins by belaboring the point that it will be about such things. Actually, it's a story about the most ordinary (and fascinating) stuff of life-human drama, mortality, regret, family, parenting, being a kid, love, hate, and forgiveness. Yes, the characters are all connected somehow, but then so is everybody. The great thing about "Magnolia" is not the clever synchrony of the relationships, but the sincere intensity of the relationships themselves.

There is far too much plot to mention here (actually, there's far too much plot, period). I will attempt to give a quick outline of the complex relationships. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) is an old television tycoon on his deathbed, cared for by his live-in nurse Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and his young wife Linda (Julianne Moore), who married him for his money but has now truly fallen in love with him. Earl tells Phil he wants him to find his estranged son, Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), a magnetic, very nasty male-movement guru who teaches a phallocentric program called "Seduce and Destroy," encouraging men to "respect the [rhymes with clock]" and to "tame" the, uh, the other one. For reasons that are unclear, he hates his father. Then there is Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), the very popular host of the TV quiz show "What Do Kids Know?", and like Earl he is dying of cancer. He is married to long-suffering Rose (Melinda Dillon) and is the father of Claudia (Melora Walters), who is an inveterate cokehead and, also for reasons initially unclear, bitterly hates her father. In love with her is officer Kurring, a well-meaning cop who takes his job very seriously, taking time out to chastise young miscreants to stay in school and watch their language. Then there is Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), a sad kid genius who is bullied by his father into being the reluctant champion of Jimmy Gator's quiz show. And last (and most unnecessary) is Donnie Smith, a middle-aged salesman who was a quiz kid back in the 1960s and is ill-equipped for adult life. There's even a bizarre little role for the bizarre little Henry Gibson, playing an effete barfly (named Thurston Howell, if you please).

"Magnolia"'s strength is in its powerful presentation of guilt and the possibility of forgiveness for sins. And believe me, these characters have committed a few: abandonment, adultery, sexual and mental abuse, and goodness knows what else. Interestingly, the guilty parties all fully admit their guilt and are earnestly seeking from the wronged children and spouses a redemption that is by no means assured. For the most part, these tense relationships are convincing, and many scenes are powerful and touching, although a few of the performances could have been toned down -- Cruise struts and swaggers like a satyr on Spanish fly, leering to beat the band; Moore chews up every scene she's in, emoting to the point of apoplexy. Far more impressive are the quieter performances: Philip Baker Hall is the standout as the beloved self-loathing game show host who has discovered he is dying of cancer; the scene in which he breaks down on live television is the film's best. Jason Robards is moving as the dying, regretful television mogul, as is Philip Seymour Hoffman (for once not playing the creep-role that his looks tend to sentence him to) as the old man's nurse. "Magnolia" also boasts a very bold soundtrack, with music ranging from Bizet's "Carmen" to "Thus Spake Zarathustra" to several excellent originals by Aimee Mann (from the band "Til Tuesday", remember?)

The major flaw with "Magnolia" is its sheer bloat and inability to STOP. It just doesn't know when to quit, so...it doesn't. At three hours, it tests the limits of patience and bladder stamina. There's so much plot, so many characters with so many issues going in so many directions, it all becomes too much. I realize that for many critics this unabashed excess is the very thing they love about it. I've liked a lot of sprawling films with legions of characters: "Magnolia"'s obvious progenitor "Short Cuts", and Anderson's own "Boogie Nights". Those films, however, were very tightly constructed; for all its operatic grandeur, "Magnolia" is in constant danger of coming apart at the seams, and ultimately...it does, with an ending so unbelievably flabbergasting that I didn't know whether to applaud its nose-thumbing audacity or cry over such ludicrous nonsense. (I won't reveal the insane ending, but the film gives you a clue early on: during a game show scene, there is a shot of the studio audience. One of them is holding up a sign with a scripture reference -- and it ain't John 3:16.)

So do I hate this movie? Nah. I'm soft on "grand vision" films, and it's hard to stay mad at a film so cheerfully irresponsible, well-meaning and earnest. Is it a great film? Don't you believe it. But when it pauses for breath, it is a sincere observation of dysfunctional family relationships and at least the possibility of being forgiven. And any film these days that looks at such things with an open heart instead of a jaundiced eye can't be all bad, now can it?

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