You know you're human when your life is, for all intents and purposes, essentially flawless, and you still hate it, and what you hate most is the shame you feel that you hate it. Cogito ergo cogito ergo cogito ergo cogito ad infinitum. That's sort of the haunted look in Cruise's face, I think: the shame of someone who hates. "One of the freaks who suspects they can never love anyone," per finale song.
P.T. Anderson supposedly modeled Magnolia in part on A Day in the Life, which literally popped into my head halfway through the movie. Dunno if I'd seen that factoid before and forgotten or what. Something about watching William Macy scurry around like he always does and the pacing of the whole thing. Man, I really don't know what to do with myself now. Weirdly timely movie (which suits the movie's weirdly timely conceit).
It's so strange to look at your life objectively and realize how disproportionately emotional you are about everything, how you could regret as much as Partridge or hurt and hate as much as Frank and feel as lonely and stupid as Claudia. Guess it's to compensate for the basic shallowness of a fortunate life. Spoiled brat problems. The fact that Anderson made some bits (exhibit a: the universal synchronous sing-along) so cheesy was probs the truest part of the movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment