Director Watch Podcast Ep. 20 – ‘Magnolia’ (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 20 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Magnolia (1999).

After making a giant statement with Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson took it up a notch with his third feature film centered around a cast of lonely characters connected grief, chance, divine intervention, and the music of Aimee Mann. Inspired by the films of Robert Altman, in particular Short Cuts, PTA creates a masterful examination of the human condition and the complexities that exist in order to find peace within one’s self. Ryan, Jay and Brian dive deep into the dozens of interpretations Magnolia presents, if the film is a religious movie, PTA find his voice so early on, the darkness surrounding each story line, the performances from one of the best ensembles of the 1990s, and where Magnolia ranks in the epic year of cinema that was 1999.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h32m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, Punch Drunk Love. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)