DVD Case Pantheon: Magnolia

Some of my favorite films are tightly built. They clock in at about 90 minutes, leave absolutely nothing inessential in the story, and yet still find time to have well developed characters. There is usually one main story line featuring a minimum of characters. Urgency and consequences are the name of the game.



Some of my favorite films, however, aren't precision machines. They are sloppy around the edges, slow to move and slow to get where they are going, and not afraid to get messy. That doesn't mean they abandon strong character work. Because the story pacing isn't so taut, that becomes even more important. It also doesn't mean the movie descends into self-indulgence. Sometimes an epic story needs a bit longer, a bit more winding of a journey, to tell the story.

P.T. Anderson's Magnolia is decidedly part of the latter group. Clocking in at over three hours, it is not a quick watch. It has nine main characters, each connected in some way (although not every character is connected to each other). They have different backgrounds, different personalities, and different goals in life. However, they all are witness to the same string of events that happen over the course of a day in Southern California.

Before I continue, let's consider the case of these nine main characters

There is the son, Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise), a person who makes a living telling men how to trick women into sleeping with them. He is estranged from his father, Earl Partridge (Jason Robards, in his final major role before his death), who he has not seen or talked to in many years. Earl is dying of lung cancer, and wishes to make some sort of amends with his son.

Then there is Linda Partridge (Julianne Moore), Earl's wife. She married Earl to get his money, but has grown to love him. Despite her change of heart, Earl barely notices her, and spends the last waking moments of his life airing his regrets over how he treated his first wife (Frank's mother).

Earl's caretaker is Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who clearly enjoys talking to the deteriorating Earl. When Earl starts discussing his son, Phil makes a concerted effort to get in touch with Frank to let him know his father is dying.

At a nearby TV studio, the hit TV show What do Kids Know? (produced by Big Earl Partridge Productions) is airing. It's a big time for the show, as the kid's team, led by Stanley Specter (Jeremy Blackman), is fast approaching the record high score. The other kids depend on Stanley to carry the load for them, being much more concerned about their movie careers. Also, Stanley's dad is using his son's fame and ability to further his own show business career.

Over thirty years earlier, "Quiz Kid" Donnie Smith* (William H. Macy) had also had great success on the kid's quiz show. He has the big check hanging up on his wall to prove it. Unfortunately he has little else. His parents took his money, he got struck by lightning, his car is wrecked, and he's about to lose his job. But all he needs is $5,000 in oral surgery to fix his teeth, and he'll be good to go.

The legendary host of What do Kids Know?, Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), has worked with both Donnie and Stanley. But his road is coming to an end, as he has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has two children, including a daughter that he is estranged from. This very well could be one of his last shows.

Jimmy's daughter, Claudia Wilson Gator (Melora Walters) does not speak to her father, and has not for ten years. No one is quite sure why she refuses to talk to her father. She takes drugs and doesn't have many lasting relationships. While taking drugs, she tends to listen to her music at a loud volume. This, coupled with a unexpected visit from her father that ended in her yelling at him, caused her neighbor to call the cops.

The responding officer is Ofc. Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly). A faithful Christian, he leaves clean, including refraining from profanity. He has to deal with a lot of bad situations, and likes to imagine himself as being on Cops. Despite the awfulness of his previous house call, which resulted in him finding a dead body, the visit to Claudia's apartments goes much smoother. He is smitten by her the moment she opens the door, and arranges a date with her.

As you can see, there is a line connecting all of these characters. They all exist in close proximity to each other, experiencing the same weather conditions, watching the same television shows, and even driving on the same roads.

Yeah, I'm aware this introduction of the characters is about as long as the movie. I just thought it would be good to give you an idea of who the nine main characters are. And yeah, I'm also aware that some of the descriptions of the characters makes this sound downright cheesy.

And maybe it is a little cheesy. Quite frankly, this is not a cynical film. It's not dripping in irony, it's not snarky**, and it doesn't view the world from a detached position. There are at least two moments, both unfortunately late in the film, where you are either on its wavelength, or not. And if you don't like Aimee Mann, then you aren't going to like the music.

Above all, it's a movie about hurting people. People who have done wrong, and people who have been wronged. It's about forgiveness and closure, and about doing something to help someone out. It's about dignity, and it's about love. And it's about incredibly rare meteorological events, the poor placement of bathrooms in television studios, and proper care of medicine around pets.

By the way, it features some great acting as well. This is arguably Tom Cruise's best performance. It's also one of the few times he has disappeared into the role, rather than just playing Tom Cruise. Simply put, it's the role that even Tom Cruise haters tend to point out as the one they enjoyed him in.

Beyond Cruise, the rest of the cast is stellar as well. William H. Macy does a great job of portraying a character who still tries to achieve his goals, despite being dealt an absolutely terrible hand in life. His performance is heart breaking, even as he verbally spars with snarky Henry Gibson***, a well off older man who is pursuing the same goal as Macy. Julianne Moore walks the thin line between heavy acting and overacting, in most cases keeping her balance. John C. Reilly is his usual great self, as comfortable in a drama as in the goofiest comedy. And although limited by the character's (and his own) ailments, Jason Robards does a great job as well.

Of course, Philip Seymour Hoffman is great in this film. He plays his character with so much urgency to help make the connection between Frank and Earl. His character has a passion for his job, which would have to be tough to maintain.



While not a household name like most of the other eight main actors, Blackman does a great job as the quiz kid child prodigy. He portrays the growing dread and weariness of the character well, as he realizes that what he is to most viewers is little more than a stupid pet trick, a cute and adorable little smart kid to watch next to Grumpy Cat and that drugged out kid fresh from the dentist. The look he has on his face as the craziest event in the film goes down is simply wonderful.

And finally we come to the Gators. Melora Walters gives what may be my favorite performance in the film. She's broken, but she's not beaten. Her final scene in the film, and what is actually the final scene overall, is one of my favorite endings of all films I've ever seen.

And there's Philip Baker Hall, another one of Anderson's ringers. His character is an adulterer, an alcoholic, and perhaps guilty of even worse things. He's also soon to die, soon to be alone, and already undergoing the painful journey towards the end of his life. It's just a really great performance all around. In fact, here's what may be his best scene in the film.



Before I finish this, consider the case of the DVD Case Pantheon post about the film Magnolia. The film is a little over three hours long. The post written about it will take almost that long to read it. Is this a coincidence? Perhaps, or maybe its connected.****

Verdict: Top-Shelfer, one of my mainstays on the every changing top ten list..

*Not sure if he hangs out with an albino or not. This is not brought up in the film.
**The one exception is Henry Gibson, Macy's foe for a large portion of the film.
***Gibson is a literal link to Robert Altman's Nashville, an obvious influence on P.T. Anderson and this film in particular. He was one of a stellar cast in that film, which will be an upcoming challenger in this feature.
****Contrary to the urban legend, this was not written on a Mac, the apartment building it was written in is not on a knoll, and it was not written in Iowa. Get it? Mac-Knoll-IA. Yeah, it's a bit forced. That's why it's in a footnote. Also, if you haven't seen the film, this, and the paragraph it is connected to, seems kind of insane.