Magnolia
Across one rain-drenched Los Angeles day, strangers and damaged families collide in a feverishly compassionate drama about regret, responsibility, and the possibility of forgiveness.
Overview
A poignant exploration of human connection amidst the chaos of life and death.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- operatic
- melancholic
- harrowing
- serious movie night
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Magnolia as an ambitious, fearlessly committed ensemble drama whose operatic emotional intensity and performances outweigh its tendency toward excess and incompleteness.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The ensemble's crises build toward a fevered, musically and visually heightened emotional crescendo rather than restrained realism.
The interlocking lives and extraordinary weather event turn chance into a force that redirects characters facing guilt, death, and estrangement.
Earl Partridge, Jimmy Gator, their estranged children, and the pressured quiz children are shaped by parental neglect, abuse, guilt, and abandonment.
The film intercuts numerous characters across a single rain-soaked day in Los Angeles, gradually revealing emotional and familial connections.
Films like Magnolia, and why
Short Cuts
interwoven ensemble drama, coincidence, emotional excess, and interconnected characters confronting regret
The Ice Storm
ambitious multi-character structure, family dysfunction, loneliness, and heightened emotional storytelling
Babel
parallel narratives, wounded characters, spiritual unease, and an operatic approach to coincidence
American Beauty
ensemble relationships, surreal disruptions, and emotionally confrontational late-1990s American drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Release Date
- 1999-12-17
- Runtime
- 189 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (4170)
Cast
- Tom Cruise
- Philip Baker Hall
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Julianne Moore
- William H. Macy
- John C. Reilly
- Melora Walters
- Jeremy Blackman
- Jason Robards
- Melinda Dillon
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Magnolia about?
- Across one rain-drenched Los Angeles day, strangers and damaged families collide in a feverishly compassionate drama about regret, responsibility, and the possibility of forgiveness.
- What is Magnolia like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Magnolia as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Magnolia violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Magnolia as mild.
- What did critics think of Magnolia?
- Critics broadly praised Magnolia as an ambitious, fearlessly committed ensemble drama whose operatic emotional intensity and performances outweigh its tendency toward excess and incompleteness.
- Which films are like Magnolia?
- Films with a similar feel include Short Cuts, The Ice Storm, Babel, and American Beauty.
- How long is Magnolia?
- Magnolia runs 189 minutes.
- Where can I watch Magnolia?
- In United States, Magnolia streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
