Magnolia
1999 · Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Original language: English
- drama
The story
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
What it’s like
Restless handheld drift through overlapping rooms, with long Steadicam takes that glide down suburban corridors and across crowded living rooms, the camera always searching for the one face that will break. The palette runs warm and sodium-yellow in the San Fernando Valley afternoons and dissolves into cold blue, hospital-white and televised glare at night, and the grain of the 35mm stock gives everything a faintly worn, lived-in texture. The score by Jon Brion is full of piano and strings that swell and drop out abruptly, leaving rooms of unbearable quiet. Vibe: sprawling, sorrowful, bitterly funny, with an undercurrent of grief and a sudden, unforgettable release. Best for a long, unhurried evening when you are ready to sit with heavy feelings. Intensity: a suicide attempt, a death, and a graphic but non-gory depiction of a father's decline; some strong language and sexual frankness; a few tense confrontations, though little physical violence. Pacing is deliberately unhurried, rising toward an extraordinary, rain-soaked finale. For viewers who love ensemble character studies about regret, family, and the strange role of chance in ordinary lives.
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