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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Magnolia
New Line Cinema


7.5

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 79 votes
Read user comments
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FILM:

BOOKS:

Rebels On The Backlot by Sharon Waxman

MPAA RATING: R for strong language, drug use, sexuality and some violence

Starring Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, and William H. Macy

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. (New Line Cinema)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Paul Thomas Anderson
DIRECTED BY:	Paul Thomas Anderson
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 25, 2000 Video: July 25, 2000 Theatrical: December 17, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	188 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

Part poem, part jungle blossom, all brilliance.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The kind of film I instinctively respond to. Leave logic at the door. Do not expect subdued taste and restraint, but instead a kind of operatic ecstasy.

100

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Spellbinding.

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

The kind of brilliantly weirdo picture that, by all rights, shouldn't have gotten made at all but this time, miraculously, was.

100

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Hands-down the best movie of the year.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

One of the best movies of the year--startling, innovative, hugely funny and powerfully, courageously moving.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

A quantum leap in ambition from "Hard Eight" and "Boogie Nights" and is, to my mind, much more interesting.

Slate David Edelstein

Anderson must have needed that bonkers third-hour climax because there was nowhere to go short of spontaneous combustion.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

What leaves you breathless, though, is the knockout acting by the cast.

Newsweek David Ansen

At its best, Magnolia towers over most Hollywood films this year.

USA Today Mike Clark

The most imperfect of the year's best movies, Magnolia's flaws are easily forgiven because they are the result of go-for-broke ambition.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

An exhilarating and at times operatic film.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

If you thought "Boogie Nights" blew it in its final third, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Like Spielberg, even if the content is questionable or the performance is missing, his scenes always manage to be visually thrilling.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Anderson's big, showy flower of a movie unfurls brilliantly, each plot petal a thing of exquisite design. Then it ripens. Then it disintegrates, leaving a mess of color and a faint whiff of rot.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

It's astonishing to see a film begin this brilliantly only to torpedo itself in its final hour.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Highly audacious, hugely enjoyable, exceptionally well-written, brilliantly edited, and exuberantly actor-driven extravaganza.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Anderson strikes a near flawless balance between looseness and structure, and indulges the occasional flight of cinematic fancy without undermining the movie's emotional integrity.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Drunk and disorderly on the pure joy of making movies. A frantic, flawed, fascinating film that is both impressive and a bit out of control, often at the same time.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

As intoxicating as the flower it's named for, and its characters, most of them as flawed and fascinating as the film itself, seem intoxicated by the overpowering scent.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

At times, Anderson may be too brilliant for his own good, and there is a risk that viewers will tire of the director's relentlessly prowling camera.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Exhausting at times, frustrating in others, Magnolia is mostly just exhilarating, the product of a raw, vibrant talent finding his footing in an adult world -- and unafraid to make mistakes.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

There is undeniable power in Magnolia, in which small moments of truth are given epic gravitas, not just by Anderson's adroit cinematic style (no one's camera is more restless or inquisitive), but by the wisdom and compassion of the characters he creates.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Magnolia is "Short Cuts" with hope. It's my kind of mess.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Anderson, 29, does so much in Magnolia, with such nerve, with wily humor and out-of-the-blue bravado, that the film's flaws and lapses don't really matter. It ain't perfect, but it's awe-inspiring.

Variety Emanuel Levy

A remarkably inventive and audacious film that almost overcomes its flaws.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Unlike any other film released this past year, be it from the aspect of its storylines, of which there are many, or its emotional clarity, which is, quite frankly, brutal.

Time Richard Schickel

A hard-striving, convoluted movie, which never quite becomes the smoothly reciprocating engine Anderson ...would like it to be.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

None of the characters in Magnolia feel as vividly imagined as the porn stars and filmmakers and hangers-on of "Boogie Nights."

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

There's precious little to think about despite the screenplay's comic-philosophical musings on fate and coincidence.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

But while this terrific cast gets to strut and preen, it's difficult to make an emotional connection with most of them.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

A brilliant piece of garbage -- mesmerizing, but only because you can't believe someone has the temerity to put so much into so little.

TNT RoughCut Graham Verdon

I went into Magnolia like a kid running onto a beach with a pail and shovel ready to explore, only to find myself neck deep in quicksand three hours later, screaming for help.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

A three-hour-and-10-minute exercise in slight characterization, pointlessly showy editing and vapid plotting.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 79 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kyle S gave it a10:
My favorite movie ever. A beautiful, bold and downright astonishing exploration of a group of realistic and convoluted characters with so many interlocking themes, similarities and events you could fill a book. Incredible acting, an ingenious and entrancing ending sequence, praiseworthy direction, a wonderful script and original songs by the terrific Aimee Mann all bolster this into a hypnotic masterpiece. One thing I will say, though, is that you need to watch this film when you have 3 free hours and nothing on your mind. Let it suck you in... if you are not paying attention, or if you are overthinking, you will hate it.

Ryan D gave it a10:
An emotional masterpiece.

film dude gave it a9:
I was speechless after watching this film lately. I heard good things about it and never had the chance to watch it. At first I thought it felt like experienmental film. Then I realized this film wasn't the conventional single-story driven film that an average hollywood films portray. It was expressing life as a community. Well, a community of a small group. This LIFE felt CHAOS from start to end. To smile it off at the bitter facts of life it decided to throw in the frogs.

Sergey M. gave it a9:
Masterful work!

Luke G gave it a10:
Jaw droppingly awesome. John C. Reily was phenomenal in his goodie too shoes cop role.

Marcus D gave it a10:
The 2nd greatest film ever. The most ambitious direction and story ever. The best cast every assembled with Cruise standing out.

Redlight gave it a10:
Mesmerizing movie. It's hard to choose a favourite performance but for now it's Julianne Moore. She doesn't portray her character in a sentimental fashion, which would be typical for the situation her character's in. instead, her behaviour is erratic, almost farcical, which makes her grief all the more devastating. Shame she never got nominated for an Oscar or Golden Globe.

Magnolia New Line Cinema

Magnolia
New Line Cinema