Crash vs. Magnolia vs. Short Cuts

idk, Tom Cruise has made his bones by playing Successful confident whipper-snapper with Daddy issues, the part for me was just an extension of that.

His recent turn in Tropical Thunder, for instance, was hilarious precisely for the reasons you mentioned.

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"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.

Fair enough.

I think I may have portrayed my dislike for Magnolia a bit too strongly, as I DO like the film, but to a much lesser extent than when I first saw it, because at that point it was almost revelatory. Also, I think PT is one of the best writer/directors working today, even if a lot of the actors state he is a complete bear to work with, being super arrogant etc. Watch the extras on Magnolia, and you can almost see Macy seething as he talks about his relationship with the director.

As I said, I do own the flick, and will watch it again.

I do like the Mann song in the middle, although many consider that section to be weak.

I am hoping Holden chimes in here, as he always has some interesting things to say about Magnolia.

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Short Cuts 1993



Altman's might be the most probable, but that doesn't make it the best. With such a enormous cast of characters comes a mentality that one person doesn't really matter, an opinion voiced by one of the characters near the end. You can't assign a movie like this to one chorus though, where the creators have almost too many things to say. No my chief protest with Short Cuts, is the narrative laxity and disjointed nature of all the main characters.

It's compelling for the sheer bulk of people and events, but my interest fades in and out because there is a certain mildness and tame, even at it's most wild moments. For the first thirty minutes it introduces you to families and couples, luring you with cheating spouses and tired romance. Most every arc for every player, is directly related to one of the few extravagant events throughout. Be it a dead body in the lake, an off screen vacation, or a car accident. Every pitch is an obvious curve-ball. It took a 7.4 on the Richter scale to actually shake me.

How are the people actually tied together ? Very loosely. Some will lose someone, some will meet each other, most won't have anything to do with anyone else. Some people will do one thing and never be seen again. Twenty minutes is foot deep and that's what most of the company gets. This contrast takes a toll on the performances and that's what should matter most in Short Cuts.

In this Los Angeles, sometimes a smooth jazz will fill the air, identifiable by a hint of soul. Something curiously absent in the city's inhabitants.

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Magnolia 1999



Immediately I can point to this one and say it's the least flaring, following a much tighter structure and it's the longest. All of the people in Magnolia are similar to one another, they're all having an absurd day, they're looking for something, and by the end, everyone gets justice. This is one of the most enveloping messages, that people are the same.

The style and production compliment this tone, gliding cameras and carefully lit settings capture the time and place, but there's plenty of close ups for the actors to make it their own. The argument I'm seeing is that this very deliberate style, is countered in the naturalistic style of Short Cuts. I give the prize to the shots here, the photography is simply more thought out and finished.

Less characters mean more screen time for all of them. Although what's brilliant is how the people are tightly wound together, even if they don't interact with one another. Some of them will live out arcs of another, in the case of genius kid Stanley, the story also follows Donnie Smith (Macy), a man in his 40's that was on the same show, who's life is crumbling down around him.

(more in a second ...)

I'm not a fan of Magnolia. I expected a subtle, biting Indie film on the human condition. And for the most part, that's what it is.

But the film is also too self-aware, and thus tries too hard to be the strongest, most profound film of its genre. Everything about it is turned up to 11... from the meticulous cinematography to the intense performances to the runtime. If Crash is a baseball bat, then Magnolia is a steamroller. It's harrowing for harrowing's sake.

Frankly, the film just needs to relax. Be haunting and emotionally charged, but don't be a bulldozer. And for God's sake, don't drone on for 3+ hours.

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