Magnolia (1999)

Strange coincidences open up a to a movie that is one of my all-time favorites. Rarely ever has a film affected me so much and made me think about chance and life. It was also coincidence when I discovered this film years ago.

I can remember it as if it was yesterday. It was a friday night and my friends were going out and asked me to join them. I declined. Generelly that might not be the right choice but that evening it was rewarded with pure gold as it would indeed enrich my life a little. I was alone at home with nothing to do. I picked up a TV-magazine and searched for something to spend the night with. There it was. "Magnolia", 9 pm, highly recommended and looking promising. I had not heard of it before.

The next three hours of sheer emotionality caught me up from start to finish. By the end I was speechless. A work of such orginality and such strong human emotion, a drama about families torn apart, about loneliness and desperation, about fear and trust, life and death literally created that odd connection for me that you feel only in very special moments. And there are countless of special moments in this picture.

The introduction is a narration on urban legends that tell stories about strange and also very amusing coincidences and sets up some of the various themes communicated in the movie. The film then cuts back and forth between a dozen of characters and their individual stories that are more and less connected. The center around all the strands is formed by the themes and issues they illustrate.

Here is a quick overview:

The first story is my favorite and involves an ambitious, lonesome cop named Jim Kurring, played by the great John C. Reilly, who - while on duty - falls in love with the beautiful, troubled Claudia (Melora Walters).

Claudia's father Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall) is a famous quizmaster who has cancer and now wants to reconcile with his daughter before its too late.

The current star of the quizshow is Stanley (Jeremy Blackman), a young genius who also has a problematic relationship with his forceful dad.

William H. Macy, as Donnie Smith, was the show's star in earlier days but now his life is a mess and he is desperately looking for love.

Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) is another man dying from cancer. He was the producer of the quizshow and his last wish is to find his lost son. His nurse is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman who tries to help him. Earl's wife (Julianne Moore) is in a depressive state driven by guilt and grief because of her husband's situation and her dishonest relationship to him.

And finally Tom Cruise fearlessly takes on a role as the preachy sex-guru Frank T.J. Mackey, who is unwillingly faced with his and his family's past, that he has refused to confess to for so long, when he is interviewed about his show on how to seduce women. He is fantastic in it and again shows that he is more than only the big star in Hollywood action-blockbusters.

In its structure the film resembles Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" (1993). Altman has surely been a huge influence on Anderson as already seen in his also ensemble-driven film "Boogie Nights" that he made two years earlier. But the story and the characters in Anderson's are much more interesting than those in "Short Cuts" were (at least to me).
All of these stories are compelling. Some are funny, some are sad, some are both funny and sad and all of them are intense, insightful and naturalistic. Sometimes the film may feel a little melodramatic but its wisdom and honest emotions and not least the outstanding ensemble of actors is what pulls you into this film and doesn't back down for no second again.
The various strands illustrate life in all forms: in all its tragedy and seriousness, in all its beauty. Life sometimes seems to be out of our control. But it's not right to let it just happen. We still can decide how to live this life and many of us have the possibility to reshape their destiny. The past may not be through with us yet, but it is now time to pave the way for our future. For sure there are things that we can not anticipate, but that is also what makes life exciting. And in the end coincidence and destiny are not always quite as different as it seems. We can do this. Together we can overcome what makes us doubt sometimes.
There is always a downside to all the good things, but this film appeals to empathy, commitment and conciliation and suggests that hope should never be abandoned. "Magnolia" is a meditation on life itself and on its meaning. Life is a long, burdensome journey, love is your best friend and it is never too late for change, improvement and forgiveness. With that in mind even impossible things can happen, and impossible dreams can come true.

I've seen this picture several times now and that beautiful last shot still brings tears to my eyes and confidence to my heart. In that respect I also have to mention the beautiful soundtrack by Aimee Mann. It inspired the director to write his brillant screenplay and feels like it was written explicitely for the film. Anderson uses it in a wonderful way, not only in that last scene. One song also serves as a narrative device before the movie's final and most astonishing act that noone could have preseen.

It is a long, intense road to take until that point. But it is this long build up that allows us to get to know all these characters and then feel with them in breathtaking moments of revelation and wonder. This is one of those movies to prove that there can be more than just flat out entertainment.
It shows that movies can be art and that they can unleash a raw, transcendent power.

Magnolia was the first film I saw by Paul Thomas Anderson - now one of my favorite directors. A lot of the issues in the film are loosely based on autobiographical incidents of his. I still think it is his best work to date. But of course I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of his other flicks.

Magnolia is an epic miracle and it's a miracle that it could have been made this way as a three hour-ensemble piece like this gets rarely financed. Its impact over its 180 minutes of running time is not a strange coincidence instead it is rooted in the effort and inspiration of a true artist and life itself.

It is a touching and embracing experience and will hopefully leave you equally enlighted as me.
It will definately leave you with a smile. Hopefully you will smile back.