Magnolia

"And I'll die. Now I'll die, and I'll tell you what... the biggest regret of my life... I let my love go." Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Magnolia' is a masterclass in tension building and auteur cinema. Not only is it a tastefully crafted and wonderfully tense thriller that will keep tears on the edges of your eyes and you on the edge of your seat, but it also speaks to some serious emotional tones that ranges from childhood abuse to drug addiction, from sexual assault to adultery, from suicidal thoughts and attempts to exploitation. It covers almost every base and does each masterfully in its own right. The emotional beats are conveyed most spectacularly in two scenes in particular. The first is a heartwrenching musical number to Aimee Mann's 'Wise Up' in which each character at their lowest sings along to this excellent heartbreaking tune, the most powerful of which comes from Julianna Moore and Melora Walters, both of whom are depicting as struggling with drug abuse and depression, these two are my favourite characters in the entire film, conveying with such stunning emotion and spectacular writing some of the darkest and most difficult to watch trauma ever put to screen.The second is watching Tom Cruise see his father and breakdown at his bedside. Personally the most heartbreaking scene is watch Julianna Moore's Linda Partridge consider committing suicide in one scene and actually attempting to in another, before being saved by the most unlikely saviour, a small child. Tom Cruise's Frank T.J Mackey has always been an enormous talking point from this film as he delivers probably the best performance I have seen him in, as a homoerotic red pill influencer who teaches men how to 'tame the cunt', yikes. However I liked the fact he is not given a redemption of any sort, we simply see him breakdown at the death of his father played by Jason Robards, which is the only fitting conclusion this character deserved. Both John C. Reilly as Jim Kurring and William H. Macy as Donnie Smith also add depth, discussing feelings of inferiority, depression and feeling alone with Donnie Smith brining an excellent element of homosexuality to this film so charged by testosterone and misogyny by Cruise. Phillip Seymour Hoffman also puts in a standard stunning performance, RIP. Finally the Gator storyline alongside Claudia's storyline is also stunning to watch, Melinda Dillon's Rose for was an excellent standout and really blew me away with her acting in her final scene with her husband Philip Baker Hall, discussing how Jimmy may or may no have molested Claudia as a child, I personally think he did do it. The camera work throughout and it's long tracking shots are so creative and wonderful to watch as you see a master at the top of his game. Somehow PTA has managed to take ten characters in 9-11 individual storylines and have it all intertwine so perfectly and have not a single weak moment is genuinely unmatchable. The three hour long runtime seriously flew past, at no point was I bored, however I did spend a large amount of it in tears or on the verge of tears, so fuck you PTA for that. Overall a truly special achievement and I cannot wait to see which of your wondrous films ends up becoming next on my watchlist, thank you.