"Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours".
Magnolia is an epic story of many characters whose lives intersect on a particular day. All the characters are in the life long search of either love or forgiveness. The film basically highlights the atrocities on children by their parents and its severe consequences.
This movie totally stands out as a true masterpiece and is certainly one of the best movies produced in "drama" category of all time. This is one of those very rare movies which totally binds its audience even after having a length of over three hours.
Key Ingredients:
1.We have seen movies with two or three parallel stories running at the same time but in Magnolia, we have nine different plots running at the same time which keep on intersecting. Not only that, throughout the movie the screenwriter has ensured that the mood of each and every plot is the same which has helped the editor to easily switch from one plot to the other plot without using a blackout transition or breaking the movie into parts. I think it is an outstanding job to do so because even though your anxiety level is at peak while watching one of the plots you don't criticize the editor for making a cut to a scene from a different plot because the other plots also at that moment have the same anxiety level. So, in this way none of the plots are weaker or stronger as compared to the other plots.
2. The soundtracks were created by Aimee Mann . The background scores were created by John Bryant which helped a lot in connecting the scenes. The central theme being- "Regret & Disappointments due to futile attempts in search of love and forgiveness". The soundtracks have really helped to add to the tension created for the viewers. The soundtracks work well for all the plots as the emotional peaks and troughs occur simultaneously for all the plots.
3. The reason I call it one of the best movies in Drama categories I have ever watched is because of the actors. Paul Thomas Anderson decided to go with the same cast he used in Boogie Nights which could be risky but turned out to be a very good decision because for a movie of this magnitude and having so many characters you have got to ensure that your cast understands you and your script very well.This is probably the reason why one can't rule out one of the plots as a weaker one. You know what would be the toughest question you could ask someone after watching this movie, It would be which of the plots would you drop/cut down to reduce the movie-length from over three hours. Try it!
4. Even though the movie is full of scenes which have extraordinary dramatization, there are a few scenes that i would like to highlight in particular :
b)The kid's refusal to answer the quiz questions in the T.V show.
c)Frank's lecture about seducing and destroying women. This is undoubtedly Tom Cruise's best performance in any of his movies that i have watched!
5. A large number of connecting elements have been added for the intersection of various plots. The T.V show being one of that which allows the editor to jump from the T.V kept in one scene in a particular plot to another T.V in a completely different scene from some other plot or may be to the T.V show itself being shot. There is a particular sequence in which every character is singing Aimee Mann's "Wise up". But the totally unexpected part is the climax when frogs start falling from the sky. The phrase "Its raining cats and dogs" was being repeatedly used in many scenes.All of a sudden,you realize that the phrase actually converts into reality.
Legends :
1. Donnie Smith: Quiz kid Donnie Smith was the winner of a T.V show back when he was a kid. But all his income was spent by his parents and he has been left alone without any support. He had a job which he loses. He is also getting himself braces to impress a guy at Bar whom he likes.(Apparently this guy also has braces) And his desire to love this bar-guy even compels him to do a robbery.
2. Stanley: He is the current Quiz kid who is under a tremendous pressure from his dad to win the game show but unlike Donnie, he refuses to accept the things his dad wants him to do and outbursts on the set of the T.V show.
3. Earl: He is an old guy on his death-bed who had ditched his first wife and his only son for useless things and seeks forgiveness from his son.He is also the producer of the T.V show.
4. Frank: He is Earl's son who has led a terrible life due to his father's negligence and who now has turned into a chauvinistic womanizer who lectures men on how to conquer and destroy women.
5. Linda: She is Earl's new wife who married him just for his money but ultimately falls in love with him and regrets for betraying him while he was on his deathbed.
6.Jimmy Gator: He is the host of the Quiz kid T.V show. He had molested his own daughter but he is ironically introduced as being very good to kids.
7.Claudia: She is Jimmy's daughter who got separated from her dad because she believed he molested her. She has totally submerged herself into drugs and ruined herself by "whoring around" as put by Jimmy.
8.Phil Parma: He is Earl's nurse and he actually fulfills Earl's last wish by getting Frank to meet him.
9.Officer Jim: He is an honest officer who is just the perfect man any girl would want but even at the age of 31 he has not been able to find anyone who would love him. This has made him a bit desperate in his attempt as he dates Claudia even without figuring out what is she like.
Even though one could point out that Paul Thomas Anderson hasn't been very experimental in this production apart from his typical long single-takes which he used in Boogie Nights too. But i would still say that the screenplay didn't demand that and rate this movie 9.5 on 10.
