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Cruise's Mackey is just one of nine leading characters in
Magnolia and, it has to be said, is not necessarily
the most obnoxious.
In those stakes, he is pushed to the max by the cheating
wife of a dying man (Julianne Moore) and a pathetic, ageing,
kids' gameshow champion (William Macy) who can't get his life
in order.
Added to this list can be the dying husband (Jason Robards)
who used to cheat on his former wife and abandoned her and
her son when she got cancer and the gameshow host (Philip
Baker Hall), whose daughter (Melora Walters) is a drug addict,
while he's succumbing to bone cancer.
Of the main people, there are only three you will like by
movie's end - a child prodigy (Jeremy Blackman), a likeable
and caring cop (John C Reilly), and a male nurse (Philip Seymour
Hoffman) who sits with people as they are in the final stages
of life.
However, despite - or maybe because - of the characters'
failings, you will sit down and eat up three-hour's worth
of this day-in-the-lives-of event. And it really is an event
- and one that will have you voyeuristically waiting for the
next revelation.
The cast is just terrific and rarely do you think they are
just playing parts. The scripting helps, so does the excellent
camera work that treats the distinct, but entwined, plotlines
as one complete story.
Magnolia is a bit of hard mental work at times, but
is one of those movies that will have you pleased that you
sat down to watch.
Conclusion: Movie 85%, Extras 85%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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