Starring:
Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Tom Cruise,
Jason Robards, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melora
Walters, Jeremy Blackman Director: Paul
Thomas Anderson
Loneliness and despair run rampant
throughout Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia", the follow up to
his 1997 hit "Boogie Nights." The story follows the lives of
several inhabitants of the San Fernando Valley, each one
stumbling around in their own emotional darkness looking to find
some sort of peace in their otherwise sad and lonely existence.
At the apex of this dysfunctional
family tree of characters is Earl Partridge (Robards), a
television executive now on his deathbed. Consumed by regret, he
asks his live-in nurse (Hoffman) to locate the son he hasn't
seen since the boy was ten years old. The son, who has changed
his name to Frank T.J. Mackey (Cruise), now tours as a kind of
Tony Robbins of sexual conquest. He uses this persona mainly as
a shield to block away all remembrances of his past. (When he is
being interviewed, he communicates more in facial contortions
than words, until the interviewer asks directly about the truth
behind his past.)
There are many other characters
thrown into the mix here including Linda Partridge (Moore),
Earl's wife who married for money, yet now discovers she truly
loves him -- a very painful spot considering his current state
of health. We also get to know Jack Gator (Hall), the host of a
rather sadistic game show entitled "What Do Kids Know" which
pits children against adults in a battle of general knowledge;
Claudia Gator (Walters), Jack's daughter whose soul is so torn
she spends her days drowning out any semblance of her life with
cocaine and excruciatingly loud music; Stanley Spector
(Blackman), a child genius who seems only content to be a genius
if it can win him the love of his father; Donnie Smith (Macy), a
former child genius now looking for some way to recapture
the essence of what made him once loved by many; and Jim Kurring
(Reilly), a police officer on the lookout for love as well as
crime.
All the characters and their
plights are woven together masterfully by Anderson, who uses
numerous quick edits and fast camera moves to give the film a
kinetic energy. Somehow, he is able to do this without the movie
ever dipping into an obnoxious state of production overkill. I'm
not entirely sure how he does this. Maybe it's the attention
paid to the details of the characters' lives being so strong and
brilliant which causes the storyline to resonate above any sort
of production techniques used to convey its message.
It is this attention to detail
which gives the film a texture most other movies can't match.
It's interesting to see how the concept of love (whether it be
the desire for it, the need to escape it, or the
misinterpretation of it) affects each individual in one way or
another. For example, when Linda Partridge visits her husband's
lawyer to get herself taken out of his will, he subtly attempts
to inquire about her sobriety or lack thereof, to which she
responds angrily. Sure, she's intoxicated -- not by
mind-altering substances, but by the boa-like grasp her new
found love and guilt have on her. I also liked how Officer Jim
Kurring has his ability to find love hampered by his
Dragnet-like approach to the job. When we first see him
patrolling the streets, we hear his voice-over narration talking
about the philosophy he has adopted toward his line of work.
He's not narrating to the audience though, but rather to
himself. No wonder he's lonely -- he's too busy giving a running
commentary on his duties as an officer of the law. Not only does
this make him difficult to reach emotionally, but it affects his
ability to really perform his job. (In a revealing moment, when
he loses his gun while chasing a suspect, he breaks down and
cries rather than thinking of a way out.)
Also interesting to watch is Jack
Gator, who seems to have garnered every ounce of his identity
from the way the television public views him. He seems like a
personable fellow, respected by his co-workers, admired by his
fans, looked up to by kids, and loved by his wife (Melinda
Dillon), even after he confesses his infidelity to her. It's
when she asks about a suspected incident regarding their
daughter that everything comes crashing down. His response is so
pathetic, it's jaw-dropping. And "quiz kid" Donnie Smith is the
kind of person who makes the same mistake many people make when
looking for love -- the thought that there is some specific
thing you can do, say, or be that will make you instantly
lovable to those around you. He tries desperately to hold on to
anything which will give him a sense of being and strong status.
(He even keeps keys to his former places of employment in an
apparent effort to maintain a false sense of security and
power.) The lesson he must learn is perhaps the toughest with
regards to love -- that there are some people who just won't
love you at all, and there is nothing you can do about it.
By combining a captivating visual
style, a brilliant narrative with some indescribable plot
twists, a meticulous attention to detail, not to mention getting
the most out of a fabulous cast, writer/director Anderson has
created a work of art that not only keeps the viewer enthralled
the entire running time, but one that also makes perfect sense
by its conclusion. And for a movie about finding true love,
that's no small feat.
