Magnolia

It is impossible not to compare Magnolia to another fascinating and intelligent ensemble drama, namely "Short Cuts". In both films a dozen characters' lives intertwine, by chance or perhaps some kind of mysterious fate.
   Frank Mackey is a macho guru whose past catches up with him, first in the shape of a curious journalist and later as his dying father, Earl Partridge, whom he has renounced long ago. Partridge is the producer of a quiz show whose host Jimmy Gator suffers from the same disease as Partridge and similarly has a grown-up child who abhors him.
   This is just one of the many parallels in the film. In fact there were a few too many, or maybe the pace was just too leisurely for my taste.

Directed by:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Written by:
Paul Thomas Anderson.

Cast:

Jeremy Blackman	Stanley Spector
Tom Cruise	Frank T.J. Mackey
Melinda Dillon	Rose Gator
Luis Guzmán	Luis Guzmán
Philip Baker Hall	Jimmy Gator
Philip Seymour Hoffman	Phil Parma
William H. Macy	Donnie Smith
Alfred Molina	Solomon Solomon
Julianne Moore	Linda Partridge
Michael Murphy	Alan Kligman, Esq.
John C. Reilly	Jim Kurring
Jason Robards	Earl Partridge
Melora Walters	Claudia Wilson Gator
Miriam Margolyes	?