Magnolia is a 1999 ensemble drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s story focuses on several people who live in Los Angeles and their connection with each other. There are many different story lines within this cinematic opus from director Paul Thomas Anderson and editor Dylan Tichnor, who weave each tale of the story with such precision and skill that one never feels lost as it goes back and forth between each. It’s understandable that some may feel frustrated with this narrative style, but if you can spend eight hours binge-watching the latest season of The Crown or Stranger Things, you should have no problem with this. Magnolia’s main central characters features a number of players, including a quiz show prodigy (Jeremy Blackman) and his overly eager father (Michael Bowen); a cop (John C. Reilly) looking for love; and a once famous television producer (Jason Robards), whose dying wish is to find his estranged son (Tom Cruise), who now hosts seminars to help guys get women. There is also a former quiz show prodigy (William H Macy), who after losing his job tries to rob the same place so he can afford surgery to help impresses this guy he likes. And there are more, and while I could talk about any one of them, mostly men, I want to focus on one of the women, Claudia Wilson Gator (Melora Walters).
When we first meet Claudia she brings a random guy home from the local bar and they have a one night stand. The next day, her father (Phillip Baker Hall) comes over and it’s clear she wants nothing to do with him at all. It isn’t that she doesn’t agree with him, she flat out hates him. When I first watched the movie, I thought he was a reasonable man, and she was out of control for no reason. Indeed, as her story line progresses, we learn that she is addicted to cocaine and drinks heavily. So it is that doing lines one day, she is visited by Officer Jim Kurring (Reilly), our cop looking for love and things begin to change.
To be fair, he was responding to a noise complaint, but when she opens the door, it’s clear that he likes her very much. Claudia on the other hand, wants to get rid of him because she doesn’t want him to find her drug stash. Still, she agrees to a date later that night, but Claudia doesn’t seem to be that much into it, at least as much as Jim is. However, during the date, they both do enjoy each other’s company and both eventually admit what they both fear and in turn, coaxed by this familiarity, kiss. Nonetheless, Claudia becomes filled with too much doubt about herself and her drug use that she decides she can’t stay with Jim, asking him to never see her again. This emotional confrontation leads to the film’s final sequence with these characters and a moment worth exploring.
In a wide shot we see Claudia on her bed crying. As the camera pushes closer to her face, we hear the voice of Jim talking to her, telling her that he is going to do what she asks, to not lie or hold anything back. He says that she is a good and decent person and that he won’t allow her to think so negatively about her. As the camera closes in on her face – with only Jim’s back shown – straight out says that he won’t let her walk out on him. If she wants to be with him then be with him, he says. The shot ends with a genuine smile by Claudia, one that until now marks the first time she did so in the entire movie.
Claudia had a history of child abuse. This torment lead her to drugs, random sex, and ultimately her just living to be numb. When Jim enters her life, suddenly there is this guy who she thinks has his life together pretty well and so she is afraid that he will leave her because of her past. All of us fear such thing when dating someone new. Having them find out a secret from our past that may make them pull away is terrifying. The movie has several characters who were way too late in their forgiveness of someone else’s past, so it’s really good to see it end when someone does. This scene is beautifully shot and I really like how we can only just barely hear the dialogue, the compelling Save Me by Amiee Mann playing over the action. And that’s no coincidence as the lyrics play out like Claudia’s internalized thoughts. The long wait for her smile along with that lilting guitar riff hits with great impact, being truly one of the most beautiful moments in movies.