Magnolia film

 Number 314 on the top 1000 films of all time is Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 drama 'Magnolia.'

Magnolia tells the epic story of a group of damaged characters as they search for meaning in the San Fernando family. The ensemble cast includes Tom Cruise as pick-up artist Frank Mackey, Jason Robards as Mackey's estranged, ailing father Earl Partridge, Philip Seymour Hoffman as his nurse Phil Parma and Julianne Moore as Earl's much younger wife Linda. William H. Macy plays former child quiz show genius Donnie Smith while John C. Reilly plays policeman Jim Kurring -a  lonely man looking for love. Finally, there is Philip Baker Hall who plays game show host Jimmy Gator who is also suffering from ill health.

Although Paul Thomas Anderson is highly revered as a director, I have never been too big on his films. Sometimes I find that his films buckle under the weight of their own ambition. I'm probably going to piss off a bunch of cinophiles, but I wasn't keen on either Boogie Nights - also starring Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman - or There Will be Blood. Yes, they had their good individual elements like Daniel Day-Lewis, but I didn't like them as a whole.

And that is what I felt about Magnolia. There were lots of great elements, but they were disparate and they didn't mesh together well. Even anthology films like Paris Je T'aime have an over-arching theme connecting the disparate elements together regardless of whether this theme was more figurative than literal. Yet the different elements of Magnolia stayed stubbornly unconnected.

Having said that, the individual elements were excellent with Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore leading the charge. Tom Cruise proved just how good of a dramatic actor he is in his portrayal of Frank Mackey. He shone as the pick-up artist who embodied the obnoxiousness, self-confidence and arrogance you would expect from somebody in that field. It's no surprise really as Mackey was modelled on a pioneering pick-up artist Ross Jeffries.

But Tom Cruise showed his dramatic chops when he played Mackey making amends with his estranged father as the latter lay dying. Cruise proved why he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by channeling his own personal grief about losing his father.

He even brought Philip Seymour Hoffman to genuine tears. Hoffman and Moore were impressive. Out of the different element, this was one of the best. I also enjoyed John C. Reilly who, instead of playing your comedic relief or lovable oaf, brought a lot of humanity to a lost man looking for love.

I could have done without William H. Macy or Jeremy Blackman's storylines. Blackman played Stanley Spector - a child, quiz-show genius, similar to Macy. Spector's storyline was meant to show the horrific pressures child stars are subjected to within the entertainment industry. This is true, but the storyline was rather on the nose especially his cheesy speech about how they were exploiting him. It was true and the exploitation was sad to see - upon being denied a bathroom break due to the tight shooting schedule, Spector pees himself - but the speech was still cheesy.

Although Magnolia had lots of impressive elements, I am not convinced they all married together well.