Magnolia (1999)

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Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Running Time: 100 minutes (approx)

Production Year: 1999

Rating: 18 Certificate

Production Country: USA

Filmed in Colour

Normally a run time of three hours for a film causes eye-glazing, but Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-nominated epic is riveting, from the opening narration to the closing shot.

Multi-layered, it follows the lives of a group of Los Angeles residents over 24 hours, from TV stars to a cop, from a nurse to a failed quiz-show contestant. Some of the residents are related, others work together, yet others' lives just happen to coincide. There are crimes, death, romance, shattered dreams, all underpinned by a score from Aimee Mann that successfully counterpoints the action.

If there is a centre, it is the dying TV producer Earl Partridge (Jason Robards Sr., pictured), his genuinely grief-stricken wife Linda (Julianne Moore) and his estranged son Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), who runs a series of successful seminars telling men how to seduce - then dump - women.

Peripheral, but equally compelling, are Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), host of a popular kid's quiz show, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), once a quiz star, now reduced to crime to pay for dental work and cop Jim Curring (John C. Reilly), who sees his job as much as a Samaritan as a law officer. But they are just a few of the characters who inhabit the film which has been compared to Robert Altman's best work.

Highly recommended.

When is Magnolia next on TV?

In the UK... it's next showing on Sky Movies Indie December 2nd, 9:30pm and on Sky Movies Indie HD December 2nd, 9:30pm. See more...

Cast

Image for Julianne MooreJulianne MooreLinda Partridge
Image for Tom CruiseTom CruiseFrank T.J. Mackey
Image for William H. MacyWilliam H. MacyDonnie Smith
Image for John C. ReillyJohn C. ReillyJim Kurring
Image for Philip Baker HallPhilip Baker HallJimmy Gator
Image for Jason RobardsJason RobardsEarl Partridge
Image for Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour HoffmanPhil Parma
Image for Alfred MolinaAlfred MolinaSolomon Solomon
Melora WaltersClaudia Wilson Gator
Michael BowenRick Spector
Ricky JayBurt Ramsey / Narrator
Jeremy BlackmanStanley Spector
Melinda DillonRose Gator
April GraceGwenovier
Luis GuzmánLuis

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