Magnolia

What a dark but interesting film. This movie was an excellent film that went back and forth between the lives of different people. It is a very dramatic piece with lots of big name actors in it. Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, John C. Riley, Phillip Baker Hall, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and the list goes on. Grab some popcorn and maybe a six pack because you are going to be on the couch for a while.

The story jumps through the troubles of different peoples lives. People that have had it all as a child wiz kid star to nothing as a grown man. Daily interaction between a cop and citizens during his shift. A rich and conceited self help guru. This list goes on, but one thing that I believe that they all had in common is that somehow in the end they are all linked.

All of the actors did an amazing job. Tom Cruise was hated (but isn't he always) and that added to the emotions that the film brought from the audience. I really think that Phillip Seymour Hoffman did an awesome job. Overall everyone portrayed their characters very well.

The film was overly dramatic and I think that the dark lighting played a huge part in that. There were a lot of close up shots to show the expression on a characters face. This film is all about deceit and pain and using these filming techniques played an important role in portraying that.

I liked this movie a lot, but man it is a bummer. It really doesn't make you feel good about humankind. Dark movies like this tend to make me feel dirty, kind of like when you leave a movie theater your skin feels like you swam in butter. I do recommend that everyone see this movie though, and I thought it was an incredible movie. It is incredible in a suppository kind of way. It is medicine that heals you but you have to insert it in non pleasant ways.