The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Magnolia
Drama · 1999
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Movie details
Magnolia
“Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.”
1999 Drama 3h 9m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
8.0 / 10
341.9K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
82 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
78 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
7.7 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Magnolia?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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American Beauty
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The Thing with Feathers
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The Starling Girl
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Palm Trees and Power Lines
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Tom Cruise
Frank T.J. Mackey
Philip Baker Hall
Jimmy Gator
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Phil Parma
Julianne Moore
Linda Partridge
William H. Macy
Quiz Kid Donnie Smith
John C. Reilly
Officer Jim Kurring
Melora Walters
Claudia Wilson Gator
Court is in session
Put Magnolia on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.