Magnolia concludes 19th annual Hopkins Film Festival

From Feb. 26–March 1, the Johns Hopkins Film Society hosted the 19th annual Johns Hopkins Film Festival. The festival is carefully curated, and this year’s lineup included a wide range of genres, from classic films like Chaplin’s The Kid to foreign shorts and student films. The final screening of the festival, Magnolia (1999), was shown in 35mm and held in Shriver hall on Sunday. Watching the film on a big screen was definitely worth trekking through the slush.

Magnolia, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, follows the lives of several characters, from the very young to the very old, that at first appear to be unrelated to one another. The cast is an impressive one, featuring Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore. The film moves quickly between the characters’ storylines, and at first, gives the impression of being something of a patchwork piece. It’s difficult to orient oneself in the film, and because there are so many characters to introduce, their personal storylines are hard to follow.

The characters give the impression of having been chosen at random. It’s their strange actions, however, which make them truly unique, believable and lovable. The characters range from the spokesperson for Seduce and Destroy, a handbook for men on how to interact with women, to a child trivia star.

Upon closer inspection, the characters, as diverse as their motives may be, share many of the same emotions and desires. They are vulnerable — vulnerable to the impressions others have about them and vulnerable regarding the love that they do, or do not, receive and the love they would like to give. Anderson proves to audiences that regardless of how different these characters may seem, this vulnerability is common among all human beings.

He does not, however, only leave the audience with this hackneyed insight. The ending of the film is extraordinary and surprising, throwing the audience and its characters out of reality and its sensibility.

Anderson interjects the absurd, setting the characters and the audience straight. As emotional as these characters and their lives may be, life can only be taken so seriously. By adding a dimension of ridiculousness to the end of his film, Anderson not only frees his characters from the weightiness of their situations, but also reminds the audience that we are only human, and it is possible to become too self-absorbed with our own problems and feelings.

Randomness and chance, which often lead to the nonsensical, play a discreet yet important part in our lives. While we must take ourselves seriously, we must be open to and embrace the capriciousness of our situations.

After the screening, sophomore Meghan Killea expressed her thoughts about Magnolia.

“The film definitely didn’t feel as long as it was. The story lines were overlapped in such a way that kept the film dynamic and engaging,” Killea said.

While the film did not feel long (it ran for a total of 189 minutes), some of the storylines felt as if they were given more attention than others. It is unfortunate that there was not more of a balance in the structure of the film as certain characters felt underdeveloped.

Because there were so many characters represented in the film, it is difficult to represent them all as completely as they deserve. Given the film’s runtime, however, one would think that this would not be a problem.

Another reason Magnolia’s length may not have felt apparent was the music. The soundtrack of the film was particularly fitting to the characters. Aimee Mann produced most of the tracks, which are mellow and moody. A few tracks by Supertrap, including “Logical Song” were also included. The music helped carry the story along from a plot standpoint and also engrossed the audience as the songs played were not only a soundtrack but were actually being listened to by the characters. In one scene, characters from different storylines were shown mouthing along to the lyrics in their respective living rooms.

Paul Thomas Anderson is the director of many films, including There Will Be Blood, Punch-Drunk Love and the more recent Inherent Vice. If you enjoyed any of these you should definitely check out Magnolia.