While Paul Thomas Anderson’s debt to Robert Altman – who he later worked with extensively before his death – had been on display in Hard Eight and (particularly) Boogie Nights, it was 1999’s Magnolia where Altman’s influence really came to the forefront. Telling a sprawling tale of the interweaving connections between a dozen or so characters over a 24 hour period, the film explores themes of chance, fate, love, death, and forgiveness among people of wildly disparate backgrounds. Featuring one of the most impressive ensemble casts in recent memory – including Jason Robards in his emotional final performance – the
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