From one of my absolute favorite films of all time, Boogie Nights (#3 actually), comes one of the best extended sequences in the film: the drug deal gone wrong.
There are so many things going on in this scene all at once that should have the viewer holding their breath with anxiety. Before the scene even starts there is a tension in the air so thick that we know something bad is about to happen. We have three stupid guys about to do something really fucking stupid and they’re coked out of their minds to boot.
The two most glaring things that radiate in this scene are the aural cues. The overpowering, uncharacteristic soundtrack for a scene like this and the firecrackers exploding off screen. I love how the loud 80′s music is almost blasting out the dialogue and how the drug king (Alfred Molina) is totally oblivious to the obvious tension by the young visitors and meanwhile, in a David Lynchian sort of moment, he could care less about a Chinese kid, standing just out of frame lighting firecracker after firecracker, which is obviously getting nerves on edge (even more than they already are) of our young heroes.
Throw in a Marcelius Wallace type with a big frakkin gun who is just over their shoulder checking the bogus coke out while Molina’s character plays Russian Roulette for fun and talks about mixed tapes (a drug dealer’s version of Cusack’s talk in High Fidelity). Still the firecrackers continue.
Finally, Diggler (Wahlberg) just stares at the wall for what seem like forever while we listen to the mix tape, in full-blown, space-out mode before coming to his senses. Just as things look like we might get out of this little charade unscathed, Todd Parker does something really, REALLY stupid.
God, I love this scene…
Ha! While searching for the scene on YouTube, I found this:
If nobody has said it lately. Alfred Molina rules. He is in top form here.
and who knew Alfred Molina and Steven Coogan were related
Jim Jarmusch knows.
In Coffee and Cigarettes.
Hey, it’s on Youtube over here:
I’ve read so many times, usually from critics, about how this scene in particular is vintage directorial over-indulgence and how it paved the way for Anderson’s downfall with Magnolia. In that no one had the guts to tell him that the scene was simply too long and meandering and that he was nowhere near as good as he believed himself to be.
But I was riveted. It’s easily the most gripping and powerful of all his touches in a film of myriad powers. At the time it was nothing short of a revelation. I was convinced Anderson was the future. The first great (ruling out Soderbergh) and ambitious (ruling out Tarantino) director of my generation.
Magnolia, of course, brought me back down to Earth. But looking back I believe its failings only make Boogie Nights shine ever more. It was an absolute masterpiece in 97 and, if possible, even greater now.
It’s very Diva-esque in that here was a young, nervy upstart of a cineaste running on heart and ambition alone who, having made it up to the plate, realized that he just didn’t have it in him not to swing for the fucking fence.
P.T. Anderson, in the extras on the dvd, admits that Magnolia is something of a failure and I tend to agree with him. One of the best most ambitious beginnings to a film ever, but the rest of the film never lives up to it.
He is mortal after all.
Wow. We are back to Magnolia again? I mourn the fact that melodrama is really not practiced very much anymore in cinema. That Magnolia stands out as a beacon on the foggy loneliness is good enough for me.
I’m surprised to hear that Anderson himself thinks that Magnolia is a failure though. It seems to hit all the right notes with the actors, comes together beautifully, and transcends its own melodrama to actually say something about the human condition in its own round-about way.
Everyone likes a good story with a happy ending, and Magnolias is a very satisfying and happy one in its own way.
“I mourn the fact that melodrama is really not practiced very much anymore in cinema. ” – Kurt
You really have to check out Black Book
Regrettably, Magnolia was awful. I may have suffered from impossibly high expectations after his previous effort, but I’ve seen it a few times since and, like Punch Drunk Love, I still find it insufferable.
The best news of the year, even before the brilliant return to form of the Coens, is the resurgence of Anderson.
The Cinema needs its ambitious and unruly visionaries now more than ever.
I think he took a very good stab at it but the whole premise of the film is the significance of the interconnectedness of people and that is not adequately portrayed with any emotional resonance… its portrayed outwardly, with awkward devices to get characters to interact. Each actor may do a great job within their own compartment of the film but as a whole, as a story that does not live up to the quasi-spiritual level it aspires to, it is a failure.
Magnolia has far more lofty ambitions than melodrama… the first couple minutes assert as much… it is about seeing the story from an omnescent position, and working through the interrelationships towards some profound conclusion… I see melodrama as something far more terrestrial… its drama in situ… its Todd Field’s ‘In The Bedroom’ (yes I’m baiting you Kurt).
I”m not going to rise to that bait. But the think I love most about Magnolia is how it firmly acknowledges a gods-eye position from the viewer (with the three stories), yet then plants you ground-level for “the melodrama” which then returns to the divine (the frogs), the combo of the human drama and the combined.
The time-out in the face of tragedy (like a black-out, severe storm, (earthquake–see Short Cuts)…it’s a complete package for me that never fails to move.
The devil is always in the details, and Magnolia has details to spare. (much like the scene above, which admittedly does stick out a bit in Boogie Nights, but it’s a great scene on its own)
And to anyone who hasn’t seen this scene (where have you been?), the “coke” they are selling is actually baking powder that they’re trying to pass off as coke. Again, stupid.
As for Magnolia, I LOVE that movie through and through. Can’t completely put my finger on why for sure though.
I love Molina, the poor guy rarely gets the attention he so greatly deserves. Kurt – if you haven’t yet, you should check out “The Hoax”. Great little movie that no one saw complete with excellent performances from Gere (who’s been on a roll this year) and Molina.
Now THAT was a post. Hats off to Andrew James. I think a parallel can easily be drawn to Quentins career. PT comes through early on in his career with his masterpiece (Boogie) while Quentins was obviously Pulp. Both wander in the wilderness for a while not exactly sure what to make next and we’re treated to Magnolias and Jackie Browns. Quentin finds his “voice” again with the Kill Bill series and we’ll see what happens with PT. What I will say is I have respect for directors that have enough respect for their audience to follow their vision. Soderbergh, Tarantino, Rodriguez, Anderson should all be commended for that at least. I may not always like what they put out, but I respect their vision.
So now Jackie Brown is a less-than-good film? I’d argue that in a maturity sense, its’ Quentin T.’s best film. I love the laconic pacing and the just hanging out vibe. Realistically developed characters and great situations. Robert Forster Rules!
Elmore Leonard adaptations got the royal treatment in the mid 1990s.
i’m going to have to revisit Magnolia’s special features, because i don’t remember anderson admitting failure at all. plus, context is everything, so if he did say it, i want to know what perspective he would say it from. although, to be honest, i don’t think that alleged admittance would change how i feel about the film. like andrew and kurt, i still feel an incredible power that just emanates from Magnolia whenever i watch it. the final shot of melora walters brings me damn close to tears every time. andrew, i think the reason you can’t quite put your finger on why the film affects you the way it does is precisely because it deals with matters of the soul, a thing that can never be articulated no matter how strongly it’s touched.
i totally agree with kurt on the merits of Jackie Brown. quentin’s still batting 1.000, and JB is an absolutely remarkable part of his oeuvre. and speaking of leonard adaptations, where the hell is Killshot? that bastard was supposed to be out forever ago.
I also think Jackie Brown is Tarantino’s best film.
Wow. Jackie Brown is a better film than Reservoir Dogs AND Pulp Fiction? I just can’t accept that.