Magnolia (film)
Tagline: Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.
| Magnolia | |
|---|---|
| File:Magnolia poster.jpg Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Written by | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Produced by | Paul Thomas Anderson Joanne Sellar |
| Starring | 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 Melora Walters |
| Cinematography | Robert Elswit |
| Edited by | Dylan Tichenor |
| Music by | Jon Brion |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates |  December 8, 1999 |
Running time | 188 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Languages | English French German |
| Budget | $37,000,000 |
Magnolia is a 1999 drama film, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which tells the story of a peculiar interaction among several individuals during one apparently normal day in the San Fernando Valley, California. Interweaving nine separate yet connected storylines, Magnolia was self-consciously produced with heavy independent film influences, in a style quite far from what is currently common in mainstream Hollywood films — although it was well-financed by New Line Cinema. The length of the film also defied convention at 188 minutes (NTSC)/180 minutes (PAL).
It featured an ensemble cast of Julianne Moore, Jason Robards, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Luis Guzmán, Philip Baker Hall, April Grace, Ricky Jay, Orlando Jones, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Murphy, John C. Reilly, Melinda Dillon, Melora Walters, Michael Bowen, Thomas Jane and Felicity Huffman. Cruise was nominated for best supporting actor in the Academy Awards and won the award in the same category at the Golden Globes of 2000.
As of 28 January 2007, this movie is ranked at #179 on the IMDB.com Top 250 Films.
Overview
Magnolia starts with an introduction describing three events that set the mood for the movie by urging the audience to think about supposed coincidences which occur "all the time." The events, which are well-known urban legends, are:
- Sir Edmund William Godfrey, a resident of Greenberry Hill, London, U.K, is murdered outside his pharmacy by three vagrants by the names Joseph Green, Stanley Berry, and Daniel Hill. Based on the murder of Edmund Berry Godfrey.
- A blackjack dealer, Delmer Darion, dies of a heart attack while scuba diving, as he is accidentally picked up by a fire fighting airplane scooping water to put out a forest fire. The pilot of the plane, Craig Hansen, had met Darion a few days prior at Darion's casino, starting a fight with him after losing a hand of blackjack. The guilt and the measure of coincidence caused the pilot to commit suicide.
- A 17-year-old boy, Sydney Barringer, whose attempted suicide by jumping off the roof of his apartment building became a "successful homicide" when he was accidentally shot by his mother as he fell past his own apartment window. His parents regularly argued and threatened each other with a shotgun, which was not normally kept loaded. Sydney had loaded the gun a few days prior so that his parents would make good on their threats to kill each other and, in doing so, unwittingly became an accomplice in his own killing. The irony is that a newly installed netting on the building would have saved his life if not for the shotgun wound.
The movie then goes on to introduce the main characters:
- Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise), author of "Seduce and Destroy," a self-help system for men to get women to sleep with them. Mackey's character was inspired by Ross Jeffries, according to Paul Thomas Anderson in the magazine "Creative Screenwriting".
- Linda Partridge (Julianne Moore), a woman dealing with her much older husband's terminal illness and feelings of guilt for her infidelity. She is the stepmother of Frank T.J. Mackey.
- "Quiz Kid" Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), who won a large sum of money on the television game show What Do Kids Know? in the 1960s, but whose life has gone downhill since then as a celebrity spokesperson.
- Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), a current contestant on What Do Kids Know? with a selfish showbiz father capitalizing off his son's success by using constant pressure.
- Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a kind, innocuous nurse working for the terminally ill Earl Partridge.
- Claudia Wilson Gator (Melora Walters), a young woman plagued by psychological problems and addicted to cocaine; daughter of Jimmy Gator.
- Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), host of What Do Kids Know?.
- Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a wealthy television producer with terminal lung cancer. Estranged father of Frank T.J. Mackey.
- Officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), a divorced and forthright police officer. While on patrol, Kurring often speaks to an imaginary camera, as if he were appearing on a reality TV series such as COPS.
- Dixon (Emmanuel L. Johnson), an African American youth who raps and is the son of "The Worm."
The characters are interesting in and of themselves, but the movie is more about the connections between the characters:
| Jim Kurring | Earl | Jimmy | Claudia | Phil | Stanley | Donnie | Linda | |
| Frank | Jim dates the daughter of the host of a game show produced by Frank's father. | Earl is Frank's estranged father and has a history of mistreating women | Jimmy is the host of What Do Kids Know? produced by Frank's father | Claudia is the daughter of the host of a game show produced by Frank's father. | Phil must find Frank to reunite him with his father | Stanley is a contestant on a game show produced by Frank's father. | Donnie was a contestant on a game show produced by Frank's father. | Linda is Frank's stepmother. |
| Linda | Dixon tries to tell Jim who committed a murder and Jim lectures him without understanding; Dixon finds Linda after she OD's | Earl is Linda's husband, both have been unfaithful (Linda to Earl and Earl to his first wife) | Both make admissions of infidelity | Both abuse drugs and suffer from psychological problems | Linda employs Phil to take care of Earl | Stanley is a contestant on the show produced by Linda's husband, Earl | Both suffer emotional outbursts | |
| Donnie | Both are lonely and desperately seeking love; Jim spots Donnie attempting to return the stolen money, then comes to his aid after Donnie is injured by the falling frogs | Gained fame from the quiz show produced by Earl | Donnie was a contestant on Jimmy's show in the 70s | Both have a persecution complex | Phil is the caretaker of Earl, who produces the show that made Donnie famous | Both are "quiz kids" who feel unappreciated by their parents | ||
| Stanley | Both feel like outcasts, Stanley from his teammates and Jim from his co-workers | Gains fame from the quiz show produced by Earl | Stanley is a contestant on Jimmy's show, where both suffer breakdowns (Jimmy physically, Stanley emotionally) | Both abused by their fathers, Stanley emotionally, Claudia sexually | ||||
| Phil | Jim dates the daughter of the host of the gameshow produced by Earl, who Phil takes care of | Phil is Earl's nurse | ||||||
| Claudia | Jim goes to Claudia's apartment to check out a disturbance, and eventually asks her out on a date | Jimmy is Claudia's estranged father | ||||||
| Jimmy | Jim is called to the house of Jimmy's daughter, and eventually asks her on a date | Earl is the executive producer of Jimmy's show, both are dying of cancer and both cheated on their wives | ||||||
| Earl | Both had a troubled first marriage |
The plot reveals all these relationships over a number of interlocking events, including:
- A crime that investigators think was committed by the Worm (played by Orlando Jones in scenes that were deleted).
- The broadcasting of a live episode of What Do Kids Know?, a general-knowledge quiz show that pits children against adults.
- A noise complaint that leads to an awkward conversation, and eventually a date between Jim and Claudia.
- Donnie's barroom conversation with an enigmatic, eccentric queen, and his misguided attempts to woo the braces-wearing bartender, Brad. His love for him results in an attempt to steal money to pay for braces that he does not need from the employer who fired him.
- An interview in which a reporter attempts to penetrate the emotional wall that Frank hides behind.
- The last hours of Earl, which complicate Linda's life with a number of vital decisions and in which a desperate Phil attempts to fulfill Earl's wish to see Frank, the son who despises him.
At the end of the movie, a rare but precedented event occurs: frogs rain from the sky. While the plague of frogs is unexpected, there have been real-life reports of frogs being sucked into waterspouts and raining to the ground miles inland; see raining animals. [1]
The movie ends with the narrator urging the audience to think again about the coincidences mentioned in the intro, implying that the unlikely connections between the characters in the movie are similar.
Raining Frogs & Exodus 8:2
Indeed, the movie has a strong underlying theme of Fortean unexplained events, taken from the 1920s and 1930s works of American intellectual Charles Fort. Fortean author Loren Coleman has written a chapter about this motion picture, entitled "The Teleporting Animals and Magnolia," in one of his recent books. Coleman writes that falls of frogs are more commonplace that often realized. One of the reasons that the skeptical answer (saying all are scooped up in a watersprout) does not hold water is because the falls of frogs or fish are routinely all of one species, instead of a variety of species as would be expected if it was a random sucking up of the contents of a river or lake. Also, watersprouts are rare over the locations of freshwater frogs. The film has many hidden Fortean themes. The fall of frogs is merely one of them. One of Charles Fort's books is visible on the table in the library and there is an end credit thanking Charles Fort. [ISBN 1-416527-36-2 Mysterious America']
There is another meaningful explanation. Earlier, a boy named Dixon tells Jim that "when the sunshine don't work, the good Lord bring the rain in." A Bible verse frequently referenced and alluded to in the film, Exodus 8:2 (NIV), states that "If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs," (although in Exodus the frogs are described as simply crawling out of the "waters of Egypt"). Many of the film's other strange occurrences, such as quotes that seem odd or out of place, can be similarly explained (see the link to Cigarettes and Red Vines' Magnolia page below for more information).
Carefully observed, one may find many references to Exodus 8:2, like when the humidity is recorded to be 82% and many on similar lines. At the very beginning, the man being hanged bares a sign reading '82'. The pilot of the plane that kills Darion has '82'painted on the side. As well as in the "Jumping scene" of Sydney Barringer, if looked closely toward the bottom right side of roof border, "82" appears to be spelled out in some type of wire formation on the wall. In fact, at the beginning scene of the show "What do Kids Know" a fan is seen carrying a sign reading "Exodus 8:2" before an usher removes the sign; the most concrete reference towards that verse in the Bible. Anderson did not originally include these allusions in his screenplay; after Henry Gibson brought the passage to his attention, he worked it into the script.[1]
Other repeated references to animal rain in the story include at least 4 different characters in different scenes using the cliche "It's raining cats and dogs."
It is of note that the only character in the story who seems to be unsurprised by the unusual meteorological event is the child prodigy, Stanley, who had been especially anxious prior to the event (after a newfound interest in forecasting), yet calmly observed the falling frog silhouettes from the library, saying to himself, “This happens. This is something that happens.” This has led to the supported speculation that Stanley is seen as a prophet, allegorically akin to Moses, and that the "slavery" the movie conveys alludes to the exploitation of children by adults. [2] These "father issues" persist throughout the movie, as seen with the abuse and neglect of Claudia, Frank and Donnie (as children), Stanley and Dixon (from the deleted scene).
Dixon's Rap
Presence - with a double-ass meaning gifts I bestow, with my riff, and my flow but you don't hear me, though Think fast, catch me, yo 'cause I throw what I know with a resonance - fo' yo' trouble-ass fiend in weenin yo-self off the back of the shelf Jackass crackas, bodystackas dicktootin niggas, masturbatin' yo trigga butcha y'all just fake-ass niggas -- -- livin' to get older with a chip on your shoulder 'cept you think you got a grip, 'cuz your hip gotta holster? Ain't no confessor, so busta, you best just Shut the fuck up, try to listen and learn -- Check that ego - come off it - I'm the prophet - the professor I'm-a teach you 'bout The Worm, who eventually turned to catch wreck with the neck of a long time oppressor And he's runnin from the devil, but the debt is always gaining And if he's worth being hurt, he's worth bringin' pain in When the sunshine don't work, the Good Lord bring the rain in.
Themes
 |
Magnolia is a thematically rich film. Many essays and other writings have been composed on it. Some themes that are often associated with the film include:
- Regret
- The cost of failed relationships as a result of fathers that have failed their children. [3] Jimmy-Claudia, Earl-Frank, Stanley-his dad, Donnie-his parents. (While crouched over a toilet Donnie mumbles another explicit Exodus reference saying, ‘The sins of the fathers laid upon the children. Exodus 20:5’)
- Not all events and their results can be controlled, but an individual can control his own actions.
- Mistakes of the past cannot simply be erased [4] (We might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us).
- What it means to be a man. (Earl and Frank define masculinity by their oppression of women. Stanley's father defines it by bullying. Jim the cop defines it by talking to others in a manner that parents talk to their children, and by not losing face in front of his fellow cops and is shamed that he lost his gun.)
- Exploitation [5]
Script vs. final cut
A published version of the shooting script (Newmarket Press, 2001, ISBN 1-55704-406-6) indicates that there was substantial additional material to be incorporated into the film which did not make the final cut. In particular, the character of Dixon, the boy Jim Kurring met while investigating the shots in the first act, returns in a scene in the diner near where Donnie and Jim return the money, with his father (the Worm) in an extended dialogue exchange which indicates that Worm's father is abusive toward both Dixon and him.
Music and soundtracks
Paul Thomas Anderson has stated that the screenplay was written largely around the songs of Aimee Mann.
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; the latter was nominated in the 2000 Academy Awards and Golden Globes and in the 2001 Grammys. 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, was originally written for the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. At the time Mann's record label had refused to release her songs on an album. Paul Thomas Anderson had heard the demos while writing the screenplay. The song that plays at the opening of the film is a cover version of "One" by Harry Nilsson.
The song "Deathly" by Aimee Mann is also on her album Bachelor No. 2. It features the lyric "Now that I've met you/Would you object to/Never seeing each other again". This is used as line of dialogue in Magnolia, and the song was a major inspiration for the film.
Anderson produced a music video for "Save Me" that featured Mann in the background of what appeared to be scenes from the film, singing to characters. There was no digital manipulation involved; the video was shot at the end of filming days with Mann and actors who were asked to stay in place. The video, which contains exactly seven cuts, won the Best Editing award at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and was nominated for Best Music Video from a Film.
The soundtrack album, released in December 1999 on Reprise Records, features the Mann songs, as well as a section of Jon Brion's score and tracks by Supertramp and Gabrielle that were used in the film. Reprise released a full score album in March 2000.
Various spoken lines of the film were used as samples in the Dream Theater song "Honor Thy Father", from their album Train of Thought.
Documentary
The Magnolia DVD includes a lengthy behind-the-scenes documentary, That Moment. It uses a fly-on-the-wall approach to cover nearly every aspect of production, from production management and scheduling to music direction to special effects. As Magnolia is arguably Paul Thomas Anderson's most ambitious work to date, the behind-the-scenes documentary is also an in-depth look into his motivation and directing style. Pre-production included a screening of the film Network. Several scenes showed Anderson at odds with the child actors and labor laws that restrict their work time. The character of Dixon has further scenes filmed but it appears to be not working from Anderson's reactions. These scenes were cut completely and have never been shown on DVD.
Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jeremy Blackman | Stanley Spector |
| Michael Bowen | Rick Spector |
| Tom Cruise | Frank T.J. Mackey |
| Melinda Dillon | Rose Gator |
| April Grace | Gwenovier |
| Luis Guzmán | Luis |
| Philip Baker Hall | Jimmy Gator |
| Philip Seymour Hoffman | Phil Parma |
| Felicity Huffman | Cynthia |
| Thomas Jane | Young Jimmy Gator |
| Ricky Jay | Burt Ramsey/Narrator |
| Orlando Jones | Worm |
| William H. Macy | Quiz Kid Donnie Smith |
| Alfred Molina | Solomon Solomon |
| Julianne Moore | Linda Partridge |
| Michael Murphy | Alan Klingman, Esq. |
| John C. Reilly | Jim Kurring |
| Jason Robards | Earl Partridge |
| Melora Walters | Claudia Wilson Gator |
Awards
2000 Academy Awards
- Nominated, Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Best Music, Song: Aimee Mann, for the song "Save Me"
1999 Apex Awards
- Nominated, Best Picture
- Nominated, Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Actress in a Supporting Role: Julianne Moore
- Nominated, Director: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Original Screenplay: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Original Song: "Save Me" (Aimee Mann)
- Nominated, Original Song Score: Jon Brion
- Nominated, Achievement - Visual Effects
2000 Berlin Film Festival
- Won, Golden Bear: P.T. Anderson
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
- Won, Favorite Supporting Actor, Drama: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Favorite Supporting Actress, Drama: Julianne Moore
2000 Bodil Awards
- Nominated, Best American Film
2000 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Nominated, Best Picture
- Won, Best Makeup
- Nominated, Best Original Screenplay: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Best Supporting Actor: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Best Song: "Save Me" (Aimee Mann)
2000 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Won, Best Supporting Actor: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Best Picture
- Nominated, Best Screenplay: P.T. Anderson
2000 Chlotrudis Awards
- Won, Best Movie
- Won, Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Nominated, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
2001 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize
- Nominated, Best Foreign Film
2001 Empire Awards, UK
- Nominated, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Best Film
1999 Fennecus Awards
- Won, Adapted Song ("One" - Aimee Mann)
- Nominated, Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Cruise)
- Nominated, Actor in a Cameo Role (Felicity Huffman)
- Nominated, Juvenile Performance (Jeremy Blackman)
- Nominated, Original Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Nominated, Production Design - Contemporary (William Arnold & Mark Bridges)
- Nominated, Song Score (Jon Brion)
- Nominated, Original Song ("Save Me" - Aimee Mann)
- Nominated, Song Performance in Studio ("One" - Aimee Mann)
- Nominated, Achievement - Casting
2000 Florida Film Critics Association Awards
- Won, Best Ensemble Cast
- Won, Best Film
2000 Golden Globe Awards
- Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Best Original Song - Motion Picture: Aimee Mann, for the song "Save Me"
2001 Grammy Awards
- Nominated, Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
- Nominated, Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
- Nominated, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Aimee Mann, for the song "Save Me"
2001 Guldbagge Awards
- Won, Best Foreign Film
2000 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
- Nominated, Best Director - Foregin Film: P.T. Anderson
2000 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
- Nominated, Best DVD
- Nominated, Best Picture
- Nominated, Best Song: "Save Me"
2001 London Critics Circle Film Awards
- Nominated, Screenwriter of the Year: P.T. Anderson
1999 National Board of Review, USA
- Won, Best Acting by an Ensemble
- Won, Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Won, Best Supporting Actress: Julianne Moore
- Runner Up, Best Film - #3
2000 Online Film Critics Society Awards
- Nominated, Best Ensemble Cast Performance
- Nominated, Best Original Screenplay: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Julianne Moore
Online Motion Picture Academy Awards
- Won, Supporting Actor (Tom Cruise)
- Won, Supporting Actress (Julianne Moore)
- Won, Adapted Song ("One")
- Won, Ensemble
- Nominated, Best Picture
- Nominated, Younger Actor or Actress (Jeremy Blackman)
- Nominated, Casting (Cassandra Kulukundis)
- Nominated, Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Nominated, Original Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Nominated, Original Song ("Save Me")
- Nominated, Cinematic Moment: Frogs
2001 Robert Festival
- Nominated, Best American Film
2000 San Sebastián International Film Festival
- Won, Film of the Year
2000 Satellite Awards
- Won, Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble
- Nominated, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
- Nominated, Best Motion Picture, Drama
- Nominated, Best Original Song: "Save Me"
- Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Cruise
- Nominated, Best Screenplay, Original: P.T. Anderson
2000 Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture
- Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Julianne Moore
- Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Cruise
1999 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
- Won, Best Director: P.T. Anderson
- Won, Best Picture
- Won, Best Screenplay: P.T. Anderson
2000 Writers Guild of America, USA
- Nominated, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: P.T. Anderson
2000 Young Artist Awards
- Nominated, Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor: Jeremy Blackman
References
- Magnolia: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series), Newmarket Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55704-406-6
- Mysterious America NY: Simon and Schuster, 2007, ISBN 1-416527-36-2
External links
