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Magnolia

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Magnolia (1999)

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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:25

Rotten:7

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Critics say Magnolia is an ambitious, lengthy work that ultimately succeeds due to the interesting stories and excellent ensemble performances.

Runtime: 3 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: In a single day in Los Angeles, a number of interconnected lives are changed forever. A lonely police officer (John C. Reilly) falls in love with a disturbed cocaine addict (Melora Walters). Her... In a single day in Los Angeles, a number of interconnected lives are changed forever. A lonely police officer (John C. Reilly) falls in love with a disturbed cocaine addict (Melora Walters). Her father (Philip Baker Hall), the host of the game show "What Do Kids Know?" has terminal cancer and tries to make amends for his past mistakes. A former champion of the show (William H. Macy) struggles to find love while the current champion (Jeremy Blackman) suffocates under the pressures of being a boy genius. An elderly man (Jason Robards) lies on his deathbed, tended by nurse Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), while his trophy wife (Julianne Moore) wrestles with grief and guilt, and his estranged son (Tom Cruise), an infomercial host, teaches workshops on how to trick women into having sex. Throughout all of this, past deeds are lamented and strange forces loom in the air. Director Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to BOOGIE NIGHTS is an extravagant, emotional epic inspired by such films as Robert Altman's NASHVILLE and SHORT CUTS, with a sprawling cast of characters searching for love and meaning in a chaotic world. The cast delivers uniformly excellent performances, most notably Tom Cruise's Oscar-nominated role as the sleazy Frank T.J. Mackey. [More]

Starring: John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Starring: John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Melora Walters, William H. Macy, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Bowen, Melinda Dillon, April Grace, Luis Guzmán, Alfred Molina, Michael Murphy, Felicity Huffman, Henry Gibson

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producer: Joanne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson
Composer: Jon Brion

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Magnolia

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1 - 9 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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"Days of Our Lives" with better production values.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
10/30/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A powerful drama of intertwined stories that contemplates the co-existence of the past with our present and future.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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Anderson considers himself an actor's director, but he's something far less romantic: a star-struck enabler.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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A remarkably inventive and audacious film.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/01/00
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Variety
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What Anderson lacks in substance is offset by his great skill with actors, his gift for shaping resonant little individual vignettes and his extraordinary intuition.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
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An impressive piece of work with some fine acting that makes holding our interest for three-plus hours seem easy.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Cruise, with a sharklike stance, gives a career-best performance as a total bastard.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
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The most imperfect of the year's best movies, Magnolia's flaws are easily forgiven because they are the result of go-for-broke ambition.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
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Magnolia is the kind of film I instinctively respond to. Leave logic at the door. Do not expect subdued taste and restraint, but instead a kind of operatic ecstasy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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1 - 9 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Magnolia

February 07, 2007: Ben Stiller & Tom Cruise: The New Hardy Boys?
Will Tom Cruise resort to comedy in an effort to salvage his semi-damaged image? And if so, is Ben Stiller to be his partner in hilarity? More...

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Robert Altman, the esteemed and venerable director of "M*A*S*H," "Nashville," and "The Player," died Monday from complications due to cancer. He... More...

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