Wikipedia

Magnolia(film)

Not to be confused withMagnolia Pictures.

Magnoliais a 1999 Americandrama filmwritten, directed and co-produced byPaul Thomas Anderson.It stars anensemble cast,includingJeremy Blackman,Tom Cruise,Melinda Dillon,Philip Baker Hall,Philip Seymour Hoffman,Ricky Jay,William H. Macy,Alfred Molina,Julianne Moore,John C. Reilly,Jason Robards(in his final film role) andMelora Walters.The film is an epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness and meaning in theSan Fernando Valley.The script was inspired by the music ofAimee Mann,who contributed several songs toits soundtrack.

Magnolia
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Thomas Anderson
Written byPaul Thomas Anderson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert Elswit
Edited byDylan Tichenor
Music byJon Brion
Production
companies
Ghoulardi Film Company
JoAnne Sellar Productions
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • December 17, 1999(1999-12-17)(United States)
Running time
188 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$37 million
Box office$48.5 million

The film had a limited theatrical release on December 17, 1999, before expanding wide on January 7, 2000.Magnoliareceived positive reviews. It grossed $48.5 million against a $37 million budget. Of theensemble cast,Cruise was nominated forBest Supporting Actorat the72nd Academy Awardsand won the award in that category at theGolden Globes.It has been regarded by many sources as one of the greatest movies of all time.[2][3]

Plot

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Outline of the various characters in Magnolia and their relationships

Los Angelespolice officer Jim Kurring investigates a disturbance at a woman's apartment, finding a body in a closet. Dixon, a neighborhood boy, unsuccessfully tries to tell him who committed the murder. Jim goes to the apartment of Claudia Wilson, whose neighbors called the police after she argued with herestrangedfather, Jimmy Gator, and blasted music while snortingcocaine.Seemingly oblivious, Jim asks her on a date.

Jimmy hosts aquiz showcalledWhat Do Kids Know?and is dying ofcancer.The newestchild prodigyon the show, Stanley Spector, is hounded by his father Rick for the prize money and demeaned by the adults, who prevent him from using the bathroom during a commercial break. When the show resumes, Stanley wets himself. As the show continues, a drunken Jimmy sickens, ordering the show to go on after he collapses. After Rick berates him, Stanley runs away.

FormerWhat Do Kids Know?champion Donnie Smith, whose parents took all his prize money, has been fired from his job due to performance issues and is in love with a male bartender withbraces.Donnie wants to get braces himself, thinking the bartender will love him back. He hatches a plan to steal the money from his former boss for the surgery.

The show's former producer, Earl Partridge, is also dying of cancer. Earl'strophy wife,Linda, collects his prescriptions while he is cared for by a nurse, Phil Parma. Earl asks Phil to find his estranged son, Frank Mackey, amotivational speakerandpickup artist.Frank is interviewed by a journalist who knows Frank took care of his dying mother after Earl left. Frank storms out of the interview, after which Phil tries to contact him.

Linda goes to see Earl's lawyer, hoping to change hiswill.She married Earl for the money, but now loves him and does not want it. The lawyer suggests she renounce the will and decline the money, which would go to Frank. Linda rejects his advice and berates Phil for seeking out Frank, but later apologizes. She drives to a vacant parking lot and attempts suicide bydrug overdose.Dixon finds Linda near death in the car, takes the money from her purse, and calls an ambulance.

Jim loses his gun while trying to catch a suspect. When he meets Claudia, they promise to be honest with each other, so he confesses his ineptitude as a cop and admits he has not been on a date since he divorced three years earlier. Claudia says he will hate her because of her problems, but Jim assures her that her past does not matter. They kiss, but she leaves him.

Jimmy goes home to his wife, Rose, and confesses that he cheated on her. She asks why Claudia does not talk to him, and Jimmy admits that Claudia believes hemolestedher. Rose demands to know if it is true, but Jimmy says he cannot remember. Rose leaves him. Elsewhere, Donnie steals the money, but when he decides to return it, he cannot get back inside the office. While Donnie climbs a utility pole to the roof to try to return the money, Jim sees him and feels compelled to investigate.

Suddenly,frogs begin falling from the sky.One of them hits Donnie, and he falls from the pole and smashes his teeth. As Jimmy is about to kill himself, frogs fall through his skylight, causing him to shoot the television and cause a house fire. Rose crashes her car near Claudia's apartment but makes it inside and reconciles with her daughter. Earl is awakened and sees Frank beside him before dying. Linda's ambulance crashes near the hospital. Donnie is rescued by Jim, and Jim's lost gun falls from the sky.

Jim helps Donnie return the money. Frank goes to the hospital to be with Linda, who will recover. Stanley tells his father, Rick, that he needs to be nice to him, but Rick tells him to go to bed. Jim goes to see Claudia, telling her he wants to make things work between them. As Jim is explaining this, Claudia smiles.

Cast

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Also starring areThomas Janeas the young Jimmy Gator;Cleo Kingas Marcie;Orlando Jonesas Worm;Clark GreggandRobert Downey Sr.as employees of WDKK;Patton Oswaltas Delmer Darion; andPat Healyas both Sir Edmund William Godfrey and the young pharmacist.Paul F. TompkinsandMary Lynn Rajskubprovide voice cameos as Chad and Janet, respectively.

Production

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Development

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Paul Thomas Anderson started to get ideas forMagnoliaduring the long editing period ofBoogie Nights(1997).[4]As he got closer to finishing the film, he started writing down material for his new project.[5]After the critical and financial success ofBoogie Nights,New Line Cinema,who backed that film, told Anderson that he could do whatever he wanted and Anderson realized that, "I was in a position I will never ever be in again."[6]Michael De Luca,then head of production at New Line Cinema, made the deal forMagnolia,granting Anderson final cut without hearing an idea for the film.[6][7]Originally, Anderson had wanted to make a film that was "intimate and small-scale,"[8]something that he could shoot in 30 days.[9]He had the title of "Magnolia" in his head before he wrote the script.[10]

As he started writing, the script "kept blossoming" and he realized that there were many actors he wanted to write for and then decided to put "an epic spin on topics that don't necessarily get the epic treatment".[8]He wanted to "make the epic, the all-time great San Fernando Valley movie".[10]Anderson started with lists of images, words and ideas that "start resolving themselves into sequences and shots and dialogue,"[8]actors, and music. The first image he had for the film was the smiling face of actressMelora Walters.[8]The next image that came to him was ofPhilip Baker Hallas her father. Anderson imagined Hall walking up the steps of Walters' apartment and having an intense confrontation with her.[11]Anderson also did research on themagnolia treeand discovered a concept that eating the tree's bark helped cure cancer.[10]

Before Anderson became a filmmaker, one of the jobs he had was as an assistant for a television game show,Quiz Kid Challenge,an experience he incorporated into the script forMagnolia.[7]He also claimed in interviews that the film is structured somewhat like "A Day in the Life"byThe Beatles,and "it kind of builds up, note by note, then drops or recedes, then builds again".[10]

Screenplay

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By the time he started writing the script, Anderson was listening to the music of his friendAimee Mann.[8]He used her first two solo albums and demo tracks for her upcoming third album,Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo,as a basis and inspiration;[12]he said he "sat down to write an adaptation of Aimee Mann songs".[13]In particular, Mann's song "Deathly" inspired the character of Claudia.[12]Claudia uses part of the lyric as dialogue in the film ( "Now that I've met you / Would you object to / Never seeing each other again" ).[8]The film also features a sequence in which the characters sing along to Mann's song "Wise Up".[8]

The character of Jim Kurring originated in 1998, whenJohn C. Reillygrew a moustache out of interest and started putting together an unintelligent cop character. He and Anderson did a few parodies ofCOPSwith Anderson chasing Reilly around the streets with a video camera.Jennifer Jason Leighmade an appearance in one of these videos. Some of Kurring's dialogue came from these sessions.[8]This time around, Reilly wanted to do something different and told Anderson that he was "always cast as these heavies or these semi-retarded child men. Can't you give me something I can relate to, like falling in love with a girl?"[14]Anderson also wanted to make Reilly a romantic lead because it was something different that the actor had not done before.[8]

ForPhilip Seymour Hoffman,Anderson wanted him to play a "really simple, uncomplicated, caring character".[8]Hoffman described his character as someone who "really takes pride in the fact that every day he's dealing with life and death circumstances".[9]WithJulianne Moorein mind, Anderson wrote a role for her to play a crazed character using many pharmaceuticals. According to Moore, "Linda doesn't know who she is or what she's feeling and can only try to explain it in the most vulgar terms possible".[15]Anderson said that Linda's story was inspired byhis own father'swife.[16]ForWilliam H. Macy,Anderson felt that Macy was scared of big, emotional parts and wrote "a big tearful, emotional part" for him.[8]

While convincingPhilip Baker Hallto do the film by explaining the significance of the rain of frogs, Hall told him a story about when he was in the mountains ofItalyand got caught in bad weather—a mix of rain, snow and tiny frogs. Hall had to pull off the road until the storm passed.[17]According to an interview, Hall said that he based the character of Jimmy Gator on real-life TV personalities such asBob BarkerandArthur Godfrey.[18]The rain of frogs was inspired by the works ofCharles Fort,and Anderson claims that he was unaware that it was also a reference inThe Biblewhen he first wrote the sequence.[19]At the time Anderson came across the notion of a rain of frogs, he was "going through a weird, personal time", and he started to understand "why people turn to religion in times of trouble, and maybe my form of finding religion was reading about rains of frogs and realizing that makes sense to me somehow".[5]

Casting

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Tom Cruisewas a fan of Anderson's previous film,Boogie Nights,and contacted Anderson while he was working onStanley Kubrick'sEyes Wide Shut(1999).[20]Anderson met with Cruise on the set of Kubrick's film and Cruise told him to keep him in mind for his next film. After Anderson finished the script, he sent Cruise a copy and the next day, Cruise called him. Cruise was interested but nervous about the role. Anderson met with Cruise along with De Luca who helped convince Cruise to do the film.[6]Frank T.J. Mackey, the character that Cruise would play in the film, was based in part on an audio-recording done in an engineering class taught by a friend that was given to Anderson.[5]It consisted of two men, "talking all this trash" about women and quoting a man namedRoss Jeffries,who was teaching a new version of theEric Webercourse, "How to Pick Up Women," but utilizinghypnotismandsubliminallanguage techniques.[5]Anderson transcribed the tape and did a reading with Reilly andChris Penn.[6]Anderson then incorporated this dialogue and his research on Jeffries and other self-help gurus into Mackey and his sex seminar.[5]Anderson felt that Cruise was drawn to the role because he had just finished makingEyes Wide Shut,playing a repressed character, and was able to then play a character that was "outlandish and bigger-than-life".[10]Anderson filmed a full-lengthinfomercialwith Cruise and even bought time on late night TV to play it on.[21]

Anderson wrote the role of Earl Partridge forJason Robards,but Robards could not do it due to astaph infection.AfterGeorge C. Scottdeclined the role,[22]Robards managed to take it.[23]He said of his character, "It was sort of prophetic that I be asked to play a guy going out in life. It was just so right for me to do this and bring what I know to it".[9]According to Hall, much of the material with Partridge was based on Anderson watching his father die of cancer.[18]Anderson wantedBurt Reynoldsto star in the film after working onBoogie Nights,but Reynolds declined it.[24]

Filming

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Filming began on January 12, 1999, and was initially scheduled to be 79 days, but ending up lasting until June 24, 1999, making a total of 90 filming days plus 10 days ofsecond unitfilming.[25]

Anderson is known for the use oflong takesin his films that move along considerable distances with complex camera movements and transitions with actors and the sets.[26]Of the long takes inMagnolia,the most notable may be the 2 minutes 15 seconds where character Stanley Spector arrives at the studio for a taping ofWhat Do Kids Know?,the camera seamlessly moving through multiple rooms and hallways and transitioning to follow different characters throughout the single take.[27]

For the look of the film, the production designers analyzed films with close, tight and warm color palettes and applied it toMagnolia.[9]They also wanted to evoke the colors of the magnolia flower: greens, browns and off-whites. For the section of the prologue that is set in 1911, Anderson used a hand-crankedPathécamera that would have been used at the time.[9]Some of the actors were nervous about their scene singing the lyrics to Mann's "Wise Up", so Anderson asked Moore to go first to help set the pace which everyone else followed.[8]

Anderson and New Line Cinema reportedly had intense arguments about how to marketMagnolia.[6]He felt that the studio did not do a decent enough job onBoogie Nightsand did not like the studio's poster or trailer forMagnolia.Anderson ended up designing his own poster, cut together a trailer himself,[6]wrote the liner notes for the soundtrack album, and pushed to avoid hyping Cruise's presence in the film in favor of the ensemble cast.[23]Even though Anderson ultimately got his way, he realized that he had to "learn to fight without being a jerk. I was a bit of a baby. At the first moment of conflict, I behaved in a slightly adolescent knee-jerk way. I just screamed."[6]

Music and soundtracks

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Main articles:Magnolia (soundtrack)andMagnolia (score)

Anderson metAimee Mannin 1996 when he asked her husband,Michael Penn,to write the score and songs for his film,Hard Eight.Mann had songs on soundtracks before but never "in such an integral way", she said in an interview.[20][failed verification]She gave Anderson rough mixes of songs and found that they both wrote about the same kinds of characters.[20][failed verification]He encouraged her to write songs for the film by sending her a copy of the script.[9]Anderson said that "Simon and Garfunkelis toThe Graduateas Aimee Mann is toMagnolia".[28]

Two songs were written expressly for the film: "You Do", which was based on a character later cut from the film, and "Save Me", which closes the film;[12]the latter was nominated in the 2000Academy AwardsandGolden Globesand in the 2001Grammys.Most of the remaining seven Mann songs were demos and works in progress; "Wise Up", which is at the center of a sequence in which all of the characters sing the song,[8]was originally written for the 1996 filmJerry Maguire.At the time, Mann's record label had refused to release her songs on an album.[12]The song that plays at the opening of the film is Mann's cover of"One"byHarry Nilsson.Mann's track "Momentum" is used as the loud playing music in Claudia's apartment scene when Officer Jim arrives and was also featured in the trailer for the film.

Thesoundtrack album,released in December 1999 onReprise Records,features the Mann songs, as well as a section ofJon Brion's score and tracks bySupertrampandGabriellethat were used in the film. Reprise released afull score albumin March 2000.

Reception

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Box office

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Magnoliainitially opened in alimited releaseon December 17, 1999, in seven theaters grossing $193,604. The film was given awide releaseon January 7, 2000, in 1,034 theaters grossing $5.7 million on its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $22.5million in the United States and Canada, and $26.0million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $48.5million, against a budget of $37million.[29]

Critical response

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On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,82% of 217 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "An eruption of feeling that's as overwhelming as it is overwrought, Paul Thomas Anderson'sMagnoliareaches a fevered crescendo and sustains it thanks to its fearlessly committed ensemble. "[30]Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[31]Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "C-" on an A+ to F scale.[32]

USA Todaygave the film three and a half stars out of four and called it "the most imperfect of the year's best movies".[33]Roger Ebertfrom theChicago Sun-Timesawarded the film four stars out of four, praising it in both of his reviews from 2000 and 2008, and as his second favorite film of 1999, behindBeing John Malkovich.He said in the first review, "Magnoliais the kind of film I instinctively respond to. Leave logic at the door. Do not expect subdued taste and restraint, but instead a kind ofoperaticecstasy ".[34]After rewatching it in 2008, he added the film to his 'Great Movies' list.[35]Entertainment Weeklygave the film a "B+" rating, praising Cruise's performance: "It's with Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey, a slicktelevangelistofpenis power,that the filmmaker scores his biggest success, as the actor exorcises the uptight fastidiousness ofEyes Wide Shut... LikeJohn TravoltainPulp Fiction,this cautiously packaged movie star is liberated by risky business ".[36]The Independentsaid that the film was "limitless. And yet some things do feel incomplete, brushed-upon, tangential.Magnoliadoes not have the last word on anything. But is superb ".[37]Kenneth Turan, in his review for theLos Angeles Times,praised Tom Cruise's performance: "Mackey gives Cruise the chance to cut loose by doing amusing riffs on his charismatic superstar image. It's great fun, expertly written and performed, and all the more enjoyable because the self-parody element is unexpected".[38]In his review forThe New York Observer,Andrew Sarriswrote, "In the case ofMagnolia,I think Mr. Anderson has taken us to the water's edge without plunging in. I admire his ambition and his very eloquent camera movements, but if I may garble something Lenin once said one last time, 'You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs'. "[39]

In her review forThe New York Times,Janet Maslinwrote, "But when that group sing-along arrives,Magnoliabegins to self-destruct spectacularly. It's astonishing to see a film begin this brilliantly only to torpedo itself in its final hour, "but went on to say that the film" was saved from its worst, most reductive ideas by the intimacy of the performances and the deeply felt distress signals given off by the cast ".[40]Philip French, in his review forThe Observer,wrote, "But is the joyless universe he (Anderson) presents any more convincing than the Pollyanna optimism of traditionalsitcoms?These lives are somehow too stunted and pathetic to achieve the level oftragedy".[41]TheTimecriticRichard Schickelwrote: "The result is a hard-striving, convoluted movie, which never quite becomes the smoothly reciprocating engine Anderson (who didBoogie Nights) would like it to be. "[42]

In an interview,Ingmar BergmanmentionedMagnoliaas an example of the "strength of American cinema".[43]Roger Ebertincluded the work in his "Great Movies" list in November 2008, saying, "As an act of filmmaking, it draws us in and doesn't let go."[2]Total Filmmagazine placed it at number 4 in their list of 50 Best Movies in Total Film's lifetime.[44]In 2008, it was named the 89th greatest movie of all time byEmpiremagazine in its issue ofThe 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.[45]It received eight votes – five from critics and three from directors – in theBritish Film Institute's 2012Sight & Soundpolls.[46]

Following the film's release, Anderson said: "I really feel... ThatMagnoliais, for better or worse, the best movie I'll ever make. "[47]Later he came to consider it overlong;[48]when asked in an interview what he would tell himself to do if he could go back to when he shot the film, his response was "Chill The Fuck Out and Cut Twenty Minutes."[49]

Accolades

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Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Tom Cruise Nominated [50]
Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Original Song "Save Me"
Music and Lyrics byAimee Mann 		Nominated
Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Paul Thomas Anderson Won [51]
[52]
Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama Tom Cruise Won
Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama Julianne Moore Nominated
Bodil Awards Best American Film Nominated [53]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Film Nominated [54]
Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Tom Cruise Won
Chlotrudis Awards Best Movie Nominated [55]
Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman(also forThe Talented Mr. Ripley) Won
Best Cinematography Robert Elswit Nominated
Critics' Choice Awards Best Picture Nominated [56]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Picture Nominated
Empire Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Film Won [57]
Best Ensemble Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Tom Cruise Won [58]
[59]
Best Original Song – Motion Picture "Save Me"
Music and Lyrics by Aimee Mann 		Nominated
Grammy Awards Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or
Other Visual Media 		Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture– Aimee Mann Nominated [60]
Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or
Other Visual Media 		Magnolia–Jon Brion Nominated
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media "Save Me" – Aimee Mann Nominated
Grand Prix Cinema Brazil Best Foreign Language Film Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Guldbagge Awards Best Foreign Film Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Picture Nominated [61]
Best Original Song "Save Me"
Music and Lyrics by Aimee Mann 		Nominated
Best DVD Nominated
London Film Critics Circle Awards Screenwriter of the Year Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards Best Video from a Film Aimee Mann – "Save Me" Nominated
Nastro d'Argento Best Foreign Director Paul Thomas Anderson Won
Best Male Dubbing Roberto Chevalier(for dubbing Tom Cruise) Nominated
National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films 3rd Place [62]
[10]
Best Supporting Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman(also forThe Talented Mr. Ripley) Won
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore(also forA Map of the World,Cookie's Fortune,
andAn Ideal Husband) 		Won
Best Acting by an Ensemble Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman(also forThe Talented Mr. Ripley) 2nd Place [63]
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore(also forA Map of the WorldandAn Ideal Husband) 2nd Place
Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Picture JoAnne Sellarand Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated [64]
Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Tom Cruise Won
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore Won
Best Youth Performance Jeremy Blackman Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Original Song "Save Me"
Music and Lyrics by Aimee Mann 		Nominated
Best Adapted Song "One"
Music and Lyrics byHarry Nilsson 		Won
Best Casting Cassandra Kulukundis Nominated
Best Ensemble Won
Best Cinematic Moment "Frogs" Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards(1999) Top 10 Films 6th Place [65]
Best Supporting Actress Julianne Moore Nominated
Best Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Ensemble Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards(2000) Best DVD Nominated [66]
Robert Awards Best American Film Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
San Sebastián International Film Festival Film of the Year Won
Satellite Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [67]
Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Tom Cruise Nominated
Best Screenplay – Original Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated
Best Original Song "Save Me"
Music and Lyrics by Aimee Mann 		Nominated
Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise,Melinda Dillon,April Grace,
Luis Guzmán,Philip Baker Hall,Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Ricky Jay,William H. Macy,Alfred Molina,Julianne Moore,
John C. Reilly,Jason Robards,andMelora Walters 		Nominated [68]
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Tom Cruise Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Julianne Moore Nominated
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Worst On-Screen Hairstyle (Male) Tom Cruise Nominated [69]
Most Intrusive Musical Score Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best Film Won [70]
[71]
Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson Won
Best Screenplay Won[a]
Turkish Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Film 7th Place
Village Voice Film Poll Best Film 8th Place [72]
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Paul Thomas Anderson Nominated [73]
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor Jeremy Blackman Nominated [74]

Themes

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Essays have been written on thethemesinMagnolia,[76][77][78][79][80]such as regret; loneliness;[20]the cost of failed relationships as a result of parents, particularly fathers, who have failed their children;[81]and cruelty to children and its lasting effect (as demonstrated by the sexual assault perpetrated on Claudia by Jimmy).[2]

Raining frogs and Exodus (Bible) reference

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Further information:Raining animals

At the end of the film,frogsrain from the sky. Throughout the film, there are references to theBook of Exodus8:2 "And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I willsmite all thy borders with frogs."

The film has an underlying theme of unexplained events, taken from the 1920s and 1930s works ofCharles Fort.Fortean authorLoren Coleman's 2001 book "Mysterious America: The Revised Edition" includes a chapter entitled "The Teleporting Animals andMagnolia",addressing the film.[82]The chapter discusses how one of Fort's books is visible on the table in the library and the film's end credit thanking Charles Fort.[83]

The only character who seems to be unsurprised by the falling frogs is Stanley. He calmly observes the event, saying, "This happens. This is something that happens." This has led to the speculation that Stanley is aprophet,allegoricallyakin toMoses,and that the "slavery"to which the film alludes is the exploitation of children by adults.[84]These "father issues" persist throughout the film, as seen in the abuse and neglect of Claudia, Frank, Donnie, Stanley, and Dixon.[85]

Home media

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TheDVDrelease includes a lengthy behind-the-scenesdocumentary,That Moment.[86]It uses afly-on-the-wallapproach to cover nearly every aspect of production, fromproduction managementand scheduling to music direction tospecial effects.The behind-the-scenes documentary is an in-depth look into Anderson's motivation and directing style. Pre-production included a screening of the filmNetwork(1976), as well asOrdinary People(1980). Several scenes showed Anderson at odds with the child actors andlabor lawsthat restrict their work time. The character of Dixon has further scenes filmed but, from Anderson's reactions, they appear not to be working. These scenes were cut completely and have never been shown on DVD.

Notes

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  1. ^Tied withCharlie KaufmanforBeing John Malkovich.

References

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  2. ^abcEbert, Roger (November 27, 2008)."Magnolia".RogerEbert.com.Archivedfrom the original on December 2, 2008.RetrievedNovember 28,2008.
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  4. ^"'Magnolia': Paul Thomas Anderson's Absorbing Mosaic of Compassion, Humanity and the Importance of Forgiveness • Cinephilia & Beyond ".December 16, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on March 15, 2023.RetrievedMarch 15,2023.
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  6. ^abcdefgHirschberg, Lynn (December 19, 1999)."His Way".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on June 2, 2013.RetrievedApril 25,2023.
  7. ^abGoldstein, Patrick (December 24, 1999). "Heading in a New Direction".Toronto Star.
  8. ^abcdefghijklmPatterson, John (March 10, 2000)."MagnoliaManiac ".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on August 27, 2012.RetrievedApril 12,2010.
  9. ^abcdef"MagnoliaProduction Notes ".New Line Cinema.1999. Archived fromthe originalon October 30, 2006.RetrievedFebruary 4,2008.
  10. ^abcdefStrauss, Bob (December 19, 1999). "MagnoliaSprings from Valley Roots ".The Montreal Gazette.
  11. ^Portman, Jamie (December 30, 1999). "HowMagnoliaGrew and Grew ".Ottawa Citizen.
  12. ^abcdBessman, Jim (December 16, 1999). "Music Blossomed into Film".Toronto Star.
  13. ^McLevy, Alex (June 25, 2020)."Aimee Mann got cinematic with the gorgeous Magnolia soundtrack".The A.V. Club.Archivedfrom the original on June 27, 2022.RetrievedNovember 7,2021.
  14. ^Braun, Liz (January 11, 2000). "He Finally Gets the Girl".Toronto Sun.
  15. ^Strauss, Bob (December 23, 1999). "Everything's Coming UpMagnolias for Actress ".The Globe and Mail.
  16. ^Ansen, David."Paul Thomas Anderson's film tour of L.A."Entertainment Weekly.Archivedfrom the original on March 29, 2022.RetrievedMarch 29,2022.
  17. ^Pevere, Geoff (January 23, 2000). "Director Can Do Both Riveting and Ribbiting".Toronto Star.
  18. ^abDawson, Tom (March 5, 2000). "I Went from Being Anonymous to: 'Who Is This Guy We've Got To Have Him'".Scotland on Sunday.
  19. ^Adele Reinhartz,Scripture on the Silver ScreenArchivedNovember 4, 2021, at theWayback Machine,Westminster John Knox Press, 2003 p25-26
  20. ^abcdWeinraub, Bernard (October 8, 1999)."Boogiewriter back in the Valley ".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on July 11, 2022.RetrievedJuly 11,2022.
  21. ^"Paul Thomas Anderson Made a Fake Infomercial with Tom Cruise | Late Night with Conan O'Brien - YouTube".YouTube.September 28, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on September 29, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 29,2021.
  22. ^Puig, Claudia (January 7, 2000)."Interview: USA Today".USA Today.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015.
  23. ^abPuig, Claudia (January 7, 2000). "Dangerous Ground Is Paul Thomas Anderson's Turf".USA Today.
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