Magnolia | Rotten Tomatoes

Magnolia

R

Now Playing

3h 8m

Drama

List

82%

216 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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Critics Consensus

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

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

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.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 15, 2023

Full Review

Robert Denerstein

Denver Rocky Mountain News

Anderson has dared to make a movie that refuses to conceal its excesses, an amazing abundance of strong emotion, technical verve and pure performance power.

Rated: A-

Jul 15, 2023

Full Review

Ann Hornaday

Baltimore Sun

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.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 15, 2023

Full Review

George M. Thomas

Akron Beacon Journal

It's a film of power, substance and superlative performances that challenges audiences. Hopefully, audiences will be up to taking that challenge.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 15, 2023

Full Review

Steve Persall

Tampa Bay Times

Magnolia is the kind of material actors cherish, with bravura passages of emotional release and dialogue crackling with despair and a hint of ironic humor.

Rated: A-

Jul 15, 2023

Full Review

Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

Magnolia is ambitious. Ambitious and audacious in all the right ways. When it fails or falters, and these moments are few, the shortcomings are honorable.

Jul 15, 2023

Full Review

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Nathan W

Not a perfect film, but it comes pretty darn close. A simple concept at its core... We follow the lives of several different, but loosely connected, people as they deal with their unique problems over the course of a day. I found it to be engaging, relatable, and immensely entertaining. This movie did not shy away from some of the darker aspects of human nature and really took the audience for an emotional ride. I thought it was filmed beautifully. There were a number of scenes with long takes that went on for minutes at a time. There were several standout performances from its immense pool of acting talent . Most notably, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore. Just a brilliant film with great acting, and even better storytelling, that felt much shorter than its runtime.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/07/24

Full Review

KB B

It's a very enjoyable movie with great acting and storyline. It's definitely worth the watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

Jeff M

A cinematic tapestry of dysfunction, many consider this film overindulgent and overwrought - I think it's genius! This is one of the great movie-going rides I've ever witnessed. Each storyline is more fascinating than the next and nearly every performance is career-best or close to it. Tom Cruise is an actor I generally don't link, but he is electrifying here. Moore and Hoffman hit it out of the ballpark in their scene together - simply stunning! There is not a false note among the huge cast. The running time is over 3 hours, but to me it felt like 30 minutes. And the climax will have people scratching their heads and arguing for decades to come. If you're in the groove with the movie, you'll accept and appreciate what happens; if not, you'll likely consider it the most preposterous turn of events in movie history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/24

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Gareth v

An ambitious and sprawling movie that is a fine follow up to Boogie Nights from PTA. Some superb acting from it's excellent cast, particularly Tom Cruise who finally puts in a performance of note.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/26/24

Full Review

Yash B

"Magnolia" is creative and original filmmaking at its finest and one of my favorite films from director Paul Thomas Anderson. This is a film that elicits a variety of emotions and is consistently engaging for over three hours. The performances are good and I found myself deeply interested in all of the characters it brought. Often in these sorts of movies where it is a series of connected stories, I find myself liking some more than others, but this is one of the rare cases where I genuinely found myself compelled by every character. I do think the film takes a wild direction in one scene, which I'm sure would be fun to analyze, but also took me out of the movie since a lot of the emotions in the movie feel so real. Overall, this is a move that is somehow terrifying, exhilarating, hilarious, and heartbreaking all rolled into one, and it's a really ambitious film and genuinely unique viewing experience.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/29/23

Full Review

Martyn w

I have to acknowledge that I seem to be in the minority here but I found it self-important, bloated and just dull. Literally every scene in the middle of the movie ends with someone crying or wailing. It became unintentionally funny because it was so depressing

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/16/23

Full Review

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Paul Thomas Anderson

Director

Jason Robards

Earl Partridge

Julianne Moore

Linda Partridge

Tom Cruise

Frank T.J. Mackey

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Phil Parma

John C. Reilly

Jim Kurring

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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: Michael De Luca, Lynn Harris
Screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: Ghoulardi Film Company, New Line Cinema, 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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