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Just saw Magnolia last night.
***SPOILER ROTTEN***
This is one of those movies where there are people who love it so much that they can't see its flaws; and those who hate it with such ferocity that they can't see its good points.
I enjoyed Magnolia immensely but there are plenty of problems. Some of the stories I felt were lacking. Either I didn't care for the characters or the story itself just didn't work.
For instance, what are we supposed to feel for the quiz kid who needs to go to the bathroom? This story thread was a bit childish and yet the music builds its up as if its a climactic moment in the film. In fact one of my mine gripes was Anderson's direction of the child actors. Child actors need a special kind of direction. Some can do it (Colombus on Home Alone and hopefully on Harry Potter), some can't (whoever directed The Little Rascals Movie). The young actors in Magnolia are terrible from Stanley, to his two teammates to the black rapper kid. Terrible performances one and all. And it affected the movie.
The other flaw for me was William H Macy's story. I thought it was superfluous. Sure Macy always delivers but that storyline never properly linked with the others. It, and the other quiz kid's story were out of place. Removing them would have solved two problems - shortening the overwhelming length and allowing the other fantastic stories to be given more exposure.
The adult acting in Magnolia is over and above the call of duty. Tom Cruise got all the plaudits, and he deserved them. He is very good. Ladies, "Respect the C-ck". I'd love to know of the female reaction to Frank Mackey. I also loved Cruise's interviewee. She's one of those actors who's in a lot of good movies but never shines, never gets any recognition. I don't know her name. Favourite Cruise Line: "I'm quietly judging you". Brilliant.
Other standouts are King and Prince Philip - that's Baker Hall and Seymour Hoffman to the uneducated. These are my two favourite character actors acting today. Hoffman gets a very unshowy part and makes you feel for him. When I heard him order "those magazines", I thought we were in for a repeat of his Happiness character, but Hoffman is always a surprise. My favourite moment of acting from him was a simple touch when Cruise finally arrives to the house and asks to stand by the door for a while. Hoffman's shy little stance and the way he works his hands is so minimal but so effective. Baker Hall plays the dying quiz host. The fact that he retains dignity on the show after collapsing is a measure of the actor's stature. His big moment comes at the beginning when he repeats to his troubled daughter that: "I have cancer. I'm dying." Heartbreaking.
Speaking of his daughter. Melora Walters performance was the stand-out for me with John C. Reilly coming a close second. Their relationship was so fresh and so true. I'm not ashamed to say that it made my cry about five times when they were on screen together and they're not on screen together very often. When Reilly's walkie-talkie goes off as he's standing outside her house and he's forced by chance (one of the film's themes) to ask her out. When Claudia (Walters) chooses not to inhale the drugs because she thinks that Reilly might be something special. When they start to sing. When she blurts out to Reilly everything she wants to say, but was never able to say before. When she kisses him on the cheek. When they, out of nowhere, kiss each other for the first time. When she says: "Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?". And of course, Claudia's range of emotions at the final scene which builds to her smile at the end which concludes the film perfectly.
And the frogs? Well, a strange but oddly fitting conclusion to an imperfect but emotionally heated movie.
PS Sorry for the length. I guess I liked this movie more than I thought.
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I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.