Not My Kind of Movie, But Certainly Well Made and Interesting.

Rating: Null/10 (13 December 2006)

When the lives of an L.A. cop, a half black couple, two black thugs, a rich couple, a black man whose mom favors his son, a middle easter shopkeeper, a Mexican mechanic and his daughter, and a rookie cop collide, there is no stopping the skid marks from appearing. This film was made in the style of one of my favorite films. MAGNOLIA. The different characters and they way they interact with each other just gives off that fresh cinematic feel. The film works very well.
The whole racist theme seems at first to be what holds the character's lives together, but these characters are very human and everyone does know people who behave these ways. The acting is, overall, top-notch. The storyline is generally well crafted, and everything else, from the music score to the filming style and cinematography, is perfect. And yet, I do not like this movie.
It is simply not my kind of movie. I don't really like movies that try to give you meaning and not knowing how to do it. Don't get me wrong, this film has a good message, but the way it is delivered feels too overdone. This film will make you think, and this film does need to be talked about after it is finished, but I just wish the film gave the audience a chance.
Not everyone likes a movie that teaches you or forces you to think. But by giving the film too much of a grim tone set aside by spectacular and inspiring and breathtaking scenes, it just doesn't feel right. And that's where MAGNOLIA gets it right. And that's why this film irritates me. There is a particular scene near the end that i will not ruin suffix to say that the scene throws a completely unfair blow to the audience. It is especially irritating that the circumstances surrounding the scene are completely unlikely.
Overall, i recommend the film and i do feel that there was a great deal of talent working on it. The film had won Best Picture for the Academy Awards of 2005. Do I think it should have won? Hell no. The other four films that were nominated were wonderful films that i felt deserved the Oscar far more than this. This, to me, was okay, as a film, its a step in the right direction. I just wish that the stem was a little bit bigger, thats all. Recommended. I hope that it dazzles you and changes your life.