Magnolia

Well that was awesome. To make a three-hour running time where I’m not bored for a moment (and I really wasn't bored for a moment) either takes two directors or P.T. Anderson :)))) A perfect cast (my favorite was Julianne Moore :)), a dense and ingenious script supported by confident direction + a strangely "schematic" soundtrack will keep you hooked and won't let go :))) As a whole, Magnolia works really well and is an irrefutable proof of Paul Thomas Anderson's creative genius. 100% (06/02/2010)

If I were to review Magnolia objectively, I wouldn't be able to give it any lower rating than the highest one. Fortunately, I can evaluate it purely based on my own opinion, and despite Anderson's flawless direction, I couldn't help but feel that three hours is too long and somewhat unnecessary. Of course, all the storylines are interconnected, and individual characters couldn't be removed, but the whole competition, the host, and the genius young man around it all felt terribly boring to me, and I was looking forward to when the story would switch to someone else, which unfortunately applies to former contestant Macy as well. On the other hand, Cruise, Hoffman, and Reilly are amazing, and whenever any of them had the opportunity to showcase their acting skills, I was consistently moved. (16/09/2006)

Eight seemingly unconnected main storylines and a couple more subordinate storylines that cut through them all? Three hours long? With Tom Cruise actually acting? Impossible to rein in from the director’s chair? Evidently you haven’t seen Magnolia yet. It has its flies in the ointment, but overall it is very powerful and supported here and there with a scene that gives the impression “as if frogs were falling from the skies". The atmosphere is as engrossing as it is unusual. I thought up a working title for it: Magnolioid. (20/01/2005)

First and foremost, this film is not as complicated and difficult as it may seem at first glance. But it does have something to it and definitely does not lack originality, inventiveness, many unforgettable scenes and situations, and, last but not least, great performances by almost all of the main actors. (15/02/2005)

Coincidences really do happen every day, and their beauty or evil lies not in how they happen, but how they affect future events. This is exactly what Magnolia achieves, an overwhelming victory of content over form, supported by absolutely brilliant direction and gorgeous performances. For example, what Tom Cruise does here definitely moves him for me from the box of unlikeable stars to the absolute acting elite. Anderson is a filmmaker who has all my sympathies and this magnificent film, despite its length, presents an overwhelming mosaic of human nature, love and hate that completely engulfed me from the first frames and held me tightly until the closing credits. The plot flows incredibly smoothly and you don't even feel like you’re sitting at home in front of the screen, but rather like you’re walking along with all the characters right in the centre of the action. And the moment frogs started falling from the sky, I realized that I was watching one of the most brilliant and thought-provoking films in the history of cinema, which, on the contrary, don't fall from the sky very often. I wish I could make a film like this some day. 100% (01/02/2013)