Magnolia

"Strange things happen all the time."

So states the prologue narration of director Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to his critically acclaimed Boogie Nights, while onscreen historical examples of outrageous Fortean phenomena and coincidence unfold. It makes a fitting introduction to this whimsical tale of light and dark, set over a 24-hour period in the lives of a dozen San Fernando Valley residents surfing the same chaotic tangent:

Stanley Spector (newcomer Jeremy Blackman), juvenile fountain of knowledge and about-to-be-record-setting contestant on a long-running TV quiz show, who wants nothing more than a little courtesy from his dad; Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), the current record-holder, whose parents 30 years ago squandered his trivially-earned prize, and who, after getting struck by lightning, sank into a troubled existence which finds him having unnecessary oral surgery in hope of attracting a hunky bartender; the show's long-running host Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who's trying to get through another night while trying to avoid sharing with his wife (Melinda Dillon) the reason why his estranged daughter Claudia (Melora Walters) still won't speak to him even though he's dying of cancer; Officer Jim Curring (John C. Reilly), a very good cop in search of love and the meaning of life, which has been somewhat muddled by encounters with a cryptically rapping little kid at a murder scene and drug-addled Claudia; "What Do Kids Know" producer Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), who from his deathbed makes a desperate, guilty request of his diligent nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman); Earl's equally guilt-ridden, desperately over-medicated trophy wife Linda (Julianne Moore); and resoundingly not least, Earl's estranged son Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise), a swaggering, hormonal, misogynist motivational speaker and author of the "Seduce and Destroy" method of sexual conquest, who may be the most well-adjusted of the lot.

It all climaxes with the most unlikely event imaginable. Think deus ex aquarium, or maybe amphibian ex machina. Or if you want a more explicit hint, consider the frequent onscreen scriptural reference, Exodus 8:2.

This overlapping subplot school of cinematic storytelling has found many imitators since most recently reinvigorated by Quentin Tarantino, but none have managed so complex and intricate a movie as Magnolia. Juggling an ensemble cast (almost all Boogie Nights alumni) larger than that of the average 80s prime-time soap takes a big three-hour movie, but Anderson fills every minute, even the darkest, with whimsy. The film's only flaw is profanity of near-Scarface proportion, which frequently detracts from the mood. But it's worth sitting through in exchange for a visually, structurally inventive slice of life that at heart isn't a whole lot different from examining the threads that connect any disparate collection of humanity. B+

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