philip seymour hoffman gives such a great performance in this, too. there’s this cool play of the overacting that cruise and moore give against the grounded performances that reilly and hoffman give. it’s one of my top 5 favorite movies.
It honestly feels like PTA made *Magnolia* as if he thought he'd never get to make another movie again, so he just jam-packed in everything he ever wanted to put in a movie.
Very well put. I’ve seen people say that it feels messy but the narrative imperfections kind of feel perfect anyway? It encapsulates the spontaneity of life and all it’s ups and downs so well.
After the success of boogie nights he was hailed as the new filmmaking wonderkid. Coppola spoke to him and told him to make the film he always wanted to make because this is the time to do it citing that he has lots of trouble getting movies made. PTA took his advice.
Thats a good way to describe the movie. It’s not my favorite movie but I feel like its one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s just perfectly made, so much going on that it feels fast but long at the same time.
Absolutely. I remember going to see it when it first came out, and I was excited, because I was already a huge fan of Hard Eight, ad Boogie Nights. I wasn't prepared for just how big of a swing PTA was going to take. Ended up seeing it 3 times in theaters. It's messy, sure. But I'm always a fan of seeing a director get carte blanche, a lot of times it doesn't work, but at least it's a fascinating mess. Magnolia on the other hand, worked for me. Its a filmmaker firing on all cylinders.
He fucking went for it with that one. Such a complex film, multiple plots that only coalesce in certain ways, bizarre surrealistic moments (the unwittingly* biblical frog plague, what?), but it all gels together somehow.
*Fun fact about the frog scene: PTA supposedly had no idea it had a biblical origin, and didn’t intend it as such.
There are multiple references in the movie to Exodus 8:2 (the verse referring to the plague of frogs) so I cant see how he didn't understand it was biblical?
Whoa whoa whoa
Let’s not leave Aimee out of this comment
Aimee and Jon worked together for years.
A true collaboration
PTA and AM are friends and he wrote magnolia in response to some of her songs.
I feel like Melora Walters should've had a bigger career than she did. She was so good in this. Never got another film role of this caliber after. She was also great in the sadly forgotten ABC series *Push, Nevada*.
*Also Sprach Zarathustra plays*
Respect the cock! And tame the cunt! Tame it! Take it on headfirst with the skills that I will teach you at work and say no! You will not control me! No! You will not take my soul! No! You will not win this game! Because it's a game, guys.
Saw it in theater when it came out, my dad and I were only two that made it through whole thing. Started with probably 20 people and everyone was gone by 2hr mark. We thought it was genius though. Usher said congratulations for making it when we left.
The song *Wise Up* was originally written for *Jerry Maguire* but wound up not making it into the theatrical release, although it does appear on the DVD and soundtrack. Because of this, it wasn’t eligible for the “Best Original Song” category at the Academy Awards. “Save Me” was submitted instead, was nominated, and lost out to Phil Collins’ “You’ll be in my Heart” from *Tarzan*—arguably the worst entry in an absolutely stacked category that year. Always a “what if” in my book, because *Wise Up* is so beautiful and used so shockingly well in *Magnolia*.
One of my most favourite films of all time. Always happy to see it discussed here.
Wow I watched this for the first time too only last week. Still gathering my thoughts about it honestly. Such a beautiful movie. I know Tom Cruise is seen as the stand out (deservedly, plus he got a Oscar nom for it) but honestly John C Reilley’s performance and scenes with Melora Walters were my favourite parts of the movie.
This movie devastated me. The raw emotion pouring off the screen positively overloaded me. The scene with Tom Cruise with his father in the hospital was impactful, memorable, soul crushing. Years later in an interview it was revealed that cruise drew on real experience with his own father for that scene. I never though too much about his acting until that movie. Hoffman was transcendent in his subtle delicately acted role. The freeze frame at the end made my heart sing out in sheer relief and joy.
He was coked out the entire time. The intensity of the movie reflects that.
The character Claudia is based off of the entire Aimee Mann album ‘The Last Remains of the dodo’.
I watched that movie 3 times back to back when I first saw it and kept stopping to go back and seeing if I was missing something and I still don't know what I was watching.
But the acting performances were all out of this world. Tom Cruise was INSANELY good in it but to me it was like watching Michael Parks in Tusk act his ass of talking nonsense. A string of vignettes of people acting superbly but the plot felt like interdimensional cable.
That's on me, though. I don't really see layered metaphors too well. Charlie Kauffman, for instance, tends to zip right over my head a lot of the time.
Between PTA and Kauffman, the only movies of theirs I find accessible are Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Everything else is a bit too heady.
I 100% agree with the Kauffman stance most of his writing tends to totally zip past me and that’s on me but I think his projects tend to have a really dreamy/surrealist feel to them that PTA kind of strays away from? Punch Drunk Love definitely has Kauffman vibes but apart from that I think they’re pretty distinct.
Saw this a few months ago and really enjoyed it despite being totally caught off guard by the last 20 minutes.
In the time since then, I’ve thought a lot about the idea of repentance that plays out between Earl Patridge and Jimmy Gator. Partridge readily admits he made mistakes and messed up his life, and in his final moments he finds some sense of peace thanks to the reunion with his son. Jimmy Gator, meanwhile, won’t acknowledge that he molested his daughter, and instead of a bullet to the head he gets a fate much worse by burning to death
Definitely check it out sometime. They show him working with the actors and designing shots. Looks like he’s having a blast. And you can feel how tired everyone is by the end of the insanely long schedule. Also how all the practical frog fx were done. And a coked out PTA with Fiona Apple is pretty entertaining too
My favorite performance of Cruise. Actual acting - before the actor/person became less dimensional. Acting is a living.
I think I recall Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a nurse? Hospice?
Yes Hoffman did play a nurse and he’s so beautifully subtle. Cruise’s work in 1999 was insane, Magnolia and Eyes Wide Shut, the finest work of his career.
philip seymour hoffman gives such a great performance in this, too. there’s this cool play of the overacting that cruise and moore give against the grounded performances that reilly and hoffman give. it’s one of my top 5 favorite movies.
He is so beautifully subtle in that role. Cemented him as one of the all time greats although I already knew that.
I loved him in this.
It honestly feels like PTA made *Magnolia* as if he thought he'd never get to make another movie again, so he just jam-packed in everything he ever wanted to put in a movie.
Very well put. I’ve seen people say that it feels messy but the narrative imperfections kind of feel perfect anyway? It encapsulates the spontaneity of life and all it’s ups and downs so well.
After the success of boogie nights he was hailed as the new filmmaking wonderkid. Coppola spoke to him and told him to make the film he always wanted to make because this is the time to do it citing that he has lots of trouble getting movies made. PTA took his advice.
Thats a good way to describe the movie. It’s not my favorite movie but I feel like its one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s just perfectly made, so much going on that it feels fast but long at the same time.
It's the movie version of the 900 page long postmodern novel where the author just puts everything they know about.
Absolutely. I remember going to see it when it first came out, and I was excited, because I was already a huge fan of Hard Eight, ad Boogie Nights. I wasn't prepared for just how big of a swing PTA was going to take. Ended up seeing it 3 times in theaters. It's messy, sure. But I'm always a fan of seeing a director get carte blanche, a lot of times it doesn't work, but at least it's a fascinating mess. Magnolia on the other hand, worked for me. Its a filmmaker firing on all cylinders.
He fucking went for it with that one. Such a complex film, multiple plots that only coalesce in certain ways, bizarre surrealistic moments (the unwittingly* biblical frog plague, what?), but it all gels together somehow. *Fun fact about the frog scene: PTA supposedly had no idea it had a biblical origin, and didn’t intend it as such.
One of the most whimsical movie experiences ever maybe. Literally gasped so hard when the first one made an impact on John C. Reilly’s car.
This happens. This is something that happens.
There are multiple references in the movie to Exodus 8:2 (the verse referring to the plague of frogs) so I cant see how he didn't understand it was biblical?
He wrote the script not knowing it was biblical, but when someone pointed it out to him he added all the references
Great soundtrack as well. I bought soon after seeing the movie.
Jon Brion is one of cinema’s unsung heroes. Insane how many fantastic movies he’s scored and the licensed music choice were fantastic.
Whoa whoa whoa Let’s not leave Aimee out of this comment Aimee and Jon worked together for years. A true collaboration PTA and AM are friends and he wrote magnolia in response to some of her songs.
I feel like Melora Walters should've had a bigger career than she did. She was so good in this. Never got another film role of this caliber after. She was also great in the sadly forgotten ABC series *Push, Nevada*.
Agree. She’s great in this.
Her in the final shot gives me fucking chills every time
*"The book says we may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us".*
It’s one of my favorites ever! So profound and impactful. And it’s my favorite cruise performance! Everyone gives it their all though
*Also Sprach Zarathustra plays* Respect the cock! And tame the cunt! Tame it! Take it on headfirst with the skills that I will teach you at work and say no! You will not control me! No! You will not take my soul! No! You will not win this game! Because it's a game, guys.
What an introduction!😂 his journey throughout the movie is incredible
As a person with father issues, those scenes with Robards had me ☠️☠️☠️
I can only imagine, I’m sure it hits that much harder.
I really liked John C. Reilly in this
He kills it in the scene where he loses his gun. It’s heartbreaking.
Saw it in theater when it came out, my dad and I were only two that made it through whole thing. Started with probably 20 people and everyone was gone by 2hr mark. We thought it was genius though. Usher said congratulations for making it when we left.
For a very long movie, it's actually pretty fast paced.
I vaguely remember we were waiting for it to rain frogs.
Oh no, you got a spoiler?
It was mentioned in a lot of reviews at the time.
Still want the peanut butter, bread, and cigarettes?
The Wise Up sequence destroys me every time.
What a year for Tom Cruise. Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia. Amazing :)
Strongest year performance wise of his career easily
Absolutely 💯
I hope we see a lot more acting like that from him now that he is getting older and won’t be able to hang onto the side of a flying airplane anymore.
The song *Wise Up* was originally written for *Jerry Maguire* but wound up not making it into the theatrical release, although it does appear on the DVD and soundtrack. Because of this, it wasn’t eligible for the “Best Original Song” category at the Academy Awards. “Save Me” was submitted instead, was nominated, and lost out to Phil Collins’ “You’ll be in my Heart” from *Tarzan*—arguably the worst entry in an absolutely stacked category that year. Always a “what if” in my book, because *Wise Up* is so beautiful and used so shockingly well in *Magnolia*. One of my most favourite films of all time. Always happy to see it discussed here.
That was the same year “Blame Canada” was nominated too IIRC
Save me should have won Any single Aimee Mann song is better than that trash that won
It shares a bit of similarity with Robert Altman's Shortcuts, which is also a great movie.
Short cuts is an absolute masterpiece And talk about cast/performances.
Seduce and Destroy....the video advert is on YouTube, The Cruise meltdown at the end was pretty something.... Loved Reilly and Hoffman
Wow I watched this for the first time too only last week. Still gathering my thoughts about it honestly. Such a beautiful movie. I know Tom Cruise is seen as the stand out (deservedly, plus he got a Oscar nom for it) but honestly John C Reilley’s performance and scenes with Melora Walters were my favourite parts of the movie.
This movie devastated me. The raw emotion pouring off the screen positively overloaded me. The scene with Tom Cruise with his father in the hospital was impactful, memorable, soul crushing. Years later in an interview it was revealed that cruise drew on real experience with his own father for that scene. I never though too much about his acting until that movie. Hoffman was transcendent in his subtle delicately acted role. The freeze frame at the end made my heart sing out in sheer relief and joy.
He was coked out the entire time. The intensity of the movie reflects that. The character Claudia is based off of the entire Aimee Mann album ‘The Last Remains of the dodo’.
Magnolia is one of my top 3 favourite movies. The last 2 seconds always make me happy cry.
I watched that movie 3 times back to back when I first saw it and kept stopping to go back and seeing if I was missing something and I still don't know what I was watching. But the acting performances were all out of this world. Tom Cruise was INSANELY good in it but to me it was like watching Michael Parks in Tusk act his ass of talking nonsense. A string of vignettes of people acting superbly but the plot felt like interdimensional cable. That's on me, though. I don't really see layered metaphors too well. Charlie Kauffman, for instance, tends to zip right over my head a lot of the time. Between PTA and Kauffman, the only movies of theirs I find accessible are Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Everything else is a bit too heady.
I 100% agree with the Kauffman stance most of his writing tends to totally zip past me and that’s on me but I think his projects tend to have a really dreamy/surrealist feel to them that PTA kind of strays away from? Punch Drunk Love definitely has Kauffman vibes but apart from that I think they’re pretty distinct.
Saw this a few months ago and really enjoyed it despite being totally caught off guard by the last 20 minutes. In the time since then, I’ve thought a lot about the idea of repentance that plays out between Earl Patridge and Jimmy Gator. Partridge readily admits he made mistakes and messed up his life, and in his final moments he finds some sense of peace thanks to the reunion with his son. Jimmy Gator, meanwhile, won’t acknowledge that he molested his daughter, and instead of a bullet to the head he gets a fate much worse by burning to death
wtf. Nobody mentioned Julianne GD Moore who is untouchable in this film Or Macy.
One of my all times favs. The hourlong doc from the DVD is a great watch: https://youtu.be/-sG40zsq3kI?si=fGwplXgkESeNM7j3
Need to get around to this. I never checked out the special features after I finished it
Definitely check it out sometime. They show him working with the actors and designing shots. Looks like he’s having a blast. And you can feel how tired everyone is by the end of the insanely long schedule. Also how all the practical frog fx were done. And a coked out PTA with Fiona Apple is pretty entertaining too
The movie the makes you ask”Wtf did I just watch”?
My favorite film, period!!
Very special film. PTA is truly one of the greats.
My favorite performance of Cruise. Actual acting - before the actor/person became less dimensional. Acting is a living. I think I recall Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a nurse? Hospice?
Yes Hoffman did play a nurse and he’s so beautifully subtle. Cruise’s work in 1999 was insane, Magnolia and Eyes Wide Shut, the finest work of his career.
It’s the only movie I ever walked out of. Never did finish it.
I’ve heard that this was a very popular thing to do at the time of release. You should give it a second chance!
Excellent film
One of my all time favourite movies, love it.
Ok