MAGNOLIA Is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Masterpiece

In the humble opinion of Movies In Focus, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia is one of the great films of the last twenty-odd years.  Anderson’s epic L.A. tale features an excellent ensemble cast featuring a never better Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Jason Robards, John C. Reilly and William H. Macy. Aimee Mann’s music adds heart to this lyrical and poetic film and the music feels like an organic piece of Anderson’s screenplay.  

Anderson has made a lot of films since this 1999 release (Punch Drunk Love, There Will be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread) but none have managed the mastery of Magnolia.

Budgeted at $37 million, Magnolia grossed $22 million at the US box office and $25 million in other territories for a $48 million global total.