The fact that Tom Cruise is in this film notwithstanding, writer-director P.T. Anderson’s 1999 third feature was an award-winning masterpiece starring much of his stellar cast from Boogie Nights including Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman. A tapestry of love, sorrow and regret among troubled souls of the San Fernando Valley whose lives subtly and seriously intertwine, Magnolia was a tour-de-force for Anderson who was allowed to create the film’s poster, trailer and have final cut. Listening to the music of Aimee Mann as he wrote the screenplay resulted in an exceptional soundtrack heavy with her eclectic prose and an Oscar nomination for Best Song—and even Cruise managed to make us forget, for a moment, what a total loon he is and turned in a stellar performance as, well, a total loon.
Wed., Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m., 2011
