Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia"

I watched a very compelling and one of the most interesting pieces of film I have ever seen last night: Magnolia. I know, I know, I am over ten years (!) late to the party on this movie, but I have always been that way about things. I sort of stumble upon things. Anyways, I digress.

Magnolia opens with three coincidences that occurred in the past.

One is the robbery and murder of a man by three people with the last names Green, Berry, and Hill. The area where the murder occurred ending up being called Greenberry Hill.

Then there is the case of the blackjack dealer who also likes to scuba dive. One night while dealing cards, a patron ends up not getting the hand he had hoped for, and jumps over the table to fight the blackjack dealer. Later, this same patron is piloting a firefighting airplane that fills its tank with water in the same lake that the blackjack dealer he previously fought is swimming in. Accidentally, the airplane scoops up the blackjack dealer while filling up with water and the dealer dies of a heart attack. Hearing this news and feeling guilt, the patron/pilot commits suicide.

Lastly, a 17 year old boy attempts suicide but is instead shot by his unsuspecting mother as he tumbles to his death. This 17 year olds parents fight constantly, and even threaten each other with an unloaded shotgun. Not being able to take it any longer, the boy loads the shotgun hoping that the next time his parents fight and they "threaten" each other with the shotgun that one of them actually pulls the trigger and kills the other. Little does he know that at the SAME moment the 17 year old decides to jump from the roof of his apartment complex, his mother actually does take a shot at her husband (not knowing the gun is ACTUALLY loaded) and the father dodges the shot, but the son who is falling right by the window to his supposed death is struck by the shotgun blast and killed instantly. Had he not loaded the gun in hopes that his parents would shoot one another, he would have survived his fall because of a net at the bottom of the building for some window washers that he did not know existed.

The narrator, who has been taking us through these events, then says "...this is not just 'Something That Happened.' This cannot be 'One of those things...' These strange things happen all the time."

Goosebumps formed on my arm at this point.

What followed were a slew of characters and events all interconnected (ala Crash or Traffic). The thing is, Magnolia was made before all of these.

There isn't really a moment when everything comes together (like in a Seinfeld episode) and all of the characters meet one another and figure it all out. No, not this time around.

But, there is a part when frogs start raining from the skies. And, Tom Cruise yells "Respect the Cock" in one of his best on-screen performances.

Like I said before, I stumble upon things. For example, the band Brand New released "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me" and it got great buzz. I listened, never hearing Brand New before that, and then listened to the rest of their albums, missing out on them when they first hit the scene.

The same thing happened with Magnolia, me stumbling upon the film because of a book I am reading called "Rebels on the Backlot" which discussed six directors from the 90's who changed Hollywood.

From the opening frame to the closing frame, Magnolia is a film you will not be able to look away from. The performances are spectacular (with John C. Reilly standing out as a policemen who likes to narrate to himself when on the job like he's on an episode of COPS). If you haven't seen it, check it out.