Magnolia

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Magnolia

R

2000

3h 8m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

219 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

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.

Critics Consensus

An eruption of feeling that's as overwhelming as it is overwrought, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia reaches a feverish crescendo and sustains it thanks to its fearlessly committed ensemble.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

May 9

5/5

Anderson made an aching, yearning three-hour epic about lost souls in LA’s San Fernando Valley, culminating in a nutty, biblical-level frog deluge.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

07/15/2023

4/4

Magnolia is operatic in its ambition, a great, joyous leap into melodrama and coincidence, with ragged emotions, crimes and punishments, deathbed scenes, romantic dreams, generational turmoil and celestial intervention, all scored to insistent music.

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Ann Hornaday

Baltimore Sun

07/15/2023

3/4

While not as fully realized as Anderson's last movie, Boogie Nights, Magnolia is filmed with the same skillful abandon, and takes many more artistic risks... The result is a movie as fascinating for its flaws as for its considerable successes.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Feb 24

4/4

Its restless camera, onrushing music, heartbreaking monologues, and incomparable ensemble of marvelous performances generate a momentum that feels less plotted than propelled by raw emotion.

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Fico Cangiano

CineXpress Podcast

03/28/2025

5/5

A fever dream of souls crashing, repentance, forgiveness and second chances. Tom Cruise is phenomenal in what could be Paul Thomas Anderson's best offering. [Full review in Spanish]

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Philip Bagnall

Loud and Clear Reviews

09/19/2024

Magnolia is an extraordinary film about ordinary lives.

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F P

@Effeppi 3d

Honestly it's a great film yes, but the plot isn't that much of a well written thing, especially in the end, it gets boring, the frogs thing seemed kinda random to me, plus it didn't really teach me anything, it left me kinda disappointed, but it also entertained me, so yes, it's a 6/10

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Apr 13

The Magnolia experience improves with each rewatch.

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John F

@RT84127024 Jan 12

A lot to take in and it's a marathon to be sure, but totally worth it, primarily for the fine performances of Moore and Cruise (which just might be the best of his career).

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Duane M

@Duanedabath Jan 9

Magnolia is the kind of material actors cherish, with bravura passages of emotional release and dialogue crackling with despair

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Dec 9

It took me a while to get around to this one because it's runtime looked unattractive. I didn't really read what it was all about, so I went into it cold (as I do with almost all the films I watch). Despite being a little over 3 hours, it felt necessary. It was literally the entire cast of Boogie Nights which I thought was interesting, but didn't really like that aspect. There's always something about year 2000 films that seem trippy (and not just cuz Requiem fo a dream, American Psycho, Amores Perros, etc came out in the same year) I liked it as a whole and it wasn't entirely confusing. I do think it's a little overrated and praised a little to much. I'm surprised the audience score isn't in the 90s. I'd give it an audience score of 85%. There's a LOT of cursing in this movie Damn! I know I'll come back to it at some point.

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UC T

@TripleNegation Nov 29

Multiple waveforms, which individually may appear as mere noise or meaningless information, are extremely complex and chaotic, yet those stories are integrated through Fourier Transform with precise timing and amplitude, resonating at the frequencies we know so well. Transmission Complete.

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Paul Thomas Anderson

Director

Jason Robards

Earl Partridge

Julianne Moore

Linda Partridge

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producer: Paul Thomas Anderson, JoAnne Sellar
Screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Ghoulardi Film Company, Magnolia Project
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Sexuality|Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 7, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 6, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.5M
Runtime: 3h 8m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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