How long is magnolia movie

Another keeps the camera in a room while two characters drift in and out. There are also some oddball moments, such as when characters sing along with a song on the soundtrack.

In fact, music in general plays an important part in Anderson's approach. Not only are Aimee Mann's songs carefully woven into the movie's fabric, but the score, by Jon Brion, is almost omnipresent. During Magnolia 's first two hours, nearly every scene has background music. Only during the third hour are there a significant number of traditionally scored sequences. Although Magnolia 's ending will generate most of the film's buzz, the movie begins with an enjoyably offbeat prologue that is set across three time periods: with the hanging of three criminals , with the homicide of a man attempting to commit suicide , and the early s with the inadvertent death of a man in a fire fighting operation.

These three disconnected segments are meant to illustrate that some events, regardless of how strange or hard-to-swallow they may be, occur simply as a matter of chance. In a universe of infinite possibilities, all things, no matter how improbable, can happen.

In addition to being interesting in their own right, these pre-title sequences help prepare the audience for what will occur minutes later. In a film of many strengths, nothing ranks higher in Magnolia than the quality of acting. From top to bottom, there isn't a weak link in the cast. However, when it comes to Oscar nominations, the movie will likely have a problem. Because this is an ensemble piece, with nearly everyone getting equal time, there are no leads, and everyone can't be nominated in the supporting categories.

Regardless of what the Academy decides, that doesn't negate the fact that there are several deserving performers. Leading the list is Tom Cruise, who gives one of the best performances of his career if not the best.

Those disappointed by the actor's work in the recent Kubrick film will have their eyes opened wide by his effort here. He plays Frank with the fervor of an evangelist, and it's a riveting portrayal. You might also like. Rate And Review Submit review Want to see. Super Reviewer. Rate this movie Oof, that was Rotten. What did you think of the movie? Step 2 of 2 How did you buy your ticket? Let's get your review verified. Fandango AMCTheatres.

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How did you buy your ticket? View All Photos Movie Info. On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

Paul Thomas Anderson. Jan 7, wide. May 8, New Line Cinema. Jason Robards Earl Partridge. Julianne Moore Linda Partridge. Tom Cruise Frank T. Philip Seymour Hoffman Phil Parma. John C. Reilly Jim Kurring. Melora Walters Claudia Wilson Gator. Jeremy Blackman Stanley Spector. Michael Bowen Rick Spector.

William H. Macy Donnie Smith Quiz Kid. Philip Baker Hall Jimmy Gator. Melinda Dillon Rose Gator. Emmanuel Johnson Dixon. Michael Murphy Alan Kligman, Esq. April Grace Gwenovier. Orlando Jones Worm. Henry Gibson Thurston Howell. Felicity Huffman Cynthia. Alfred Molina Solomon Solomon. Paul Thomas Anderson Director. Paul Thomas Anderson Writer. Paul Thomas Anderson Producer. Michael De Luca Executive Producer.

Lynn Harris Executive Producer. Earl is dying, and reckoning with a series of bad choices in his life, most predominantly abandoning his sick wife years earlier. Not fall down funny, but in that sort of bemusing way, like when you have an encounter with an eccentric stranger.

Donnie has a strange, elliptical conversation with a fellow bar patron who calls himself Thurston Howell Henry Gibson. During their sweetly clumsy first date, Jim abruptly blurts out his embarrassment and insecurity about his job, and Claudia is so impressed with his honesty that she kisses him. Jim seems a little surprised and puzzled by this. Every day we wake up and choose to keep moving ahead is another day for things to turn around and go our way.

And if not, then maybe the next day, or the one after that. Then she look at us, and smiles. A little bit. And Claudia cannot behave as she should on a date. And earlier that night, the cop has shamed himself by losing his gun and being unable to make an arrest.

And Quiz Kid Donnie cannot tell another man that he loves him. In one beautiful sequence, Anderson cuts between most of the major characters all simultaneously singing Aimee Mann's "It's Not Going to Stop. You know what? I think it's a coincidence. Unlike many other "hypertext movies" with interlinking plots, "Magnolia" seems to be using the device in a deeper, more philosophical way.

Anderson sees these people joined at a level below any possible knowledge, down where fate and destiny lie. They have been joined by their actions and their choices. And all leads to the remarkable, famous, sequence near the film's end when it rains frogs.

Countless frogs, still alive, all over Los Angeles, falling from the sky. That this device has sometimes been joked about puzzles me. I find it a way to elevate the whole story into a larger realm of inexplicable but real behavior.

We need something beyond the human to add another dimension. Frogs have rained from the sky eight times this century, but never mind the facts. Attend instead to Exodus , which is cited on a placard in the film: "And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs.

In this case, I believe, it refers not to people, but to fears, shames, sins. In one sense, it tells absorbing stories, filled with detail, told with precision and not a little humor. On another sense, it is a parable. The message of the parable, as with all good parables, is expressed not in words but in emotions. After we have felt the pain of these people, and felt the love of the policeman and the nurse, we have been taught something intangible, but necessary to know.

It is another film with an enigmatic ending, one that "Magnolia" teaches me I will have to think more carefully about.

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from until his death in