The 3-hour movie with 82% on RT earned Tom Cruise his last Oscar nomination and he deserved to win

One of Tom Cruise’s all-time great performances can be found in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film Magnolia. Although Cruise has become a monolithic figure in the action genre over the past decade or more, he has starred in dozens of dramas and several comedies over the years, some of which include A few good people (1992), rain man (1988), Collateral (2004), American Made (2017), The company (1993), and Tropic Thunder (2008). Thanks to Cruise’s recent deal with Warner Bros. and modern interest in returning to dramas, Cruise may be the closest to seeing his first Oscar win after last being nominated in 1999.

Cruise originally starred in more traditional dramas, comedies and other genre films before the meteoric rise of his Mission: Impossible And Tip: gun franchises. He made his film debut in the tragic romantic drama Endless love (1981) before rising to prominence as the star of Risky business (1983), The color of money (1986), and the original Top Gun (1986). Cruise was nominated for 3 Best Actor Oscars for Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), and Magnolia (1999). Cruise has also starred in some impressive sci-fi movies, such as 2013s Oblivion2013s Beach of tomorrowand 2002s Minority Report.

Magnolia was Tom Cruise’s last acting Oscar nomination – what it’s about

Magnolia was Paul Thomas Anderson’s third directorial effort

Magnolia is one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best movies with a stellar ensemble cast With Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Patton Oswalt, and more. Magnolia was the third directorial effort by PTA after 1997s boogie nights Starring Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds and his film debut Hard eight (1996). Anderson, who has been nominated for 11 Oscars for There will be blood (2007), Inherent vice (2014), Phantom thread (2017), and Licorice pizza (2021), is currently working on an untitled film with Leonardo DiCaprio that is currently scheduled for a 2025 release.

With a 3-hour and 8-minute runtime, Magnolia is a truly unique viewing experience described as a psychological and dramatic epic. This is one of those films that has several characters in various scenarios that are seemingly unrelated to each other, but ultimately overlap in meaningful ways by the end of the film. The film takes place over the course of 24 hours in Los Angeles and toys with concepts of fate and chance to create an elaborate web of intersectionality between several healthy characters. Magnolia is best viewed without knowing too much beforehand, as all the characters experience life-changing events for better and for worse.

Why Tom Cruise deserved the Oscar for Magnolia

Frank Mackey remains one of the most complex characters of Cruise’s career

Tom Cruise plays one of several integral characters in Magnolia But is not surprisingly one of the most memorable in the leading role. Cruise plays Frank TJ Mackey, an aggressive dating guru in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley with a ridiculous and over-the-top approach to dating. A victim of generational trauma that made him a highly misogynistic adult, Mackie comes up with his own philosophy and approach to dating and tries to inspire other disenfranchised people to follow in his footsteps by “taming” romantic partners. There is a palpable air of satire revolving around Cruz’s character in MagnoliaWhich serves a clear purpose in PTA’s visionary film.

Cruise recently came to star in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes wide shut Along with Nicole Kidman before starring in MagnoliaSo his natural progression to a Paul Thomas Anderson film certainly trends and fits logically. Cruise has played several characters that have an element of satire and are caricatures of social and cultural problems in general, with his hilarious role as Lex Grossman in Tropic Thunder serving as another example. Cruz is able to masterfully portray the problematic character of Frank Mackie to serve the purpose of PTA MagnoliaWhich is why he deserved the best supporting actor Oscar in 2000, finally Losing to Michael Caine in The Cedar House Rules.

Magnolia is still one of Tom Cruise’s best performances

Critics have praised Cruz’s handling of a complex satirical character

Critics have praised Cruz’s performance as one of the many key aspects of Magnolia That makes it a great cinematic achievement. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his 4/4 star review of the film, “Magnolia is operatic in its ambition, a grand, joyous leap into melodrama and accident, with ragged emotions, crimes and punishments, deathbed scenes, romantic dreams, generations and celestial intervention, all scored to insistent music..” He also called Cruz’s “TJ” character a “Nasty pin“Whose infomercials on how to seduce women sound like”They may be scripted by Andrew Dice Clay.”

Stephen Dalton of The Times (UK) wrote in his review, “Tom Cruise is highly impressive in his stand-out supporting role as an embittered misogynist teaching military-style seduction techniques to sex-starved men.” Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press shared similar sentiments on Cruz’s unforgettable performance. “Anderson’s ability to elicit remarkable performances from actors is proven not only by Cruise’s … scary-hilarious portrayal of the self-deluded misogynist Mackie, but also by the incredible performances of Moore and Robards and young Jeremy Blackman.”

Could Tom Cruise’s new movie finally win him an Oscar?

Cruise deserves a best actor Oscar as much as any Hollywood star

It is somewhat astonishing that Cruz has yet to be nominated for a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards in 25 years. The fact that He was not nominated for Top Gun: MaverickA film that Steven Spielberg credited for revitalizing a struggling post-pandemic Hollywood box office caused some outrage among viewers and even his co-star Miles Teller. Cruise continues to star in one of the best action franchises of all time Mission: Impossible And probably would be nominated for some best stunt awards if they were recognized at the Oscars.

25 years later, Magnolia It remains to be his last acting Oscar nomination. This fact may be subject to change due to his upcoming movie with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, which will join him with a slate of extraordinary and award-winning actors. Cruise will be joined on screen by Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a case), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler), John Goodman (The Big Lebowski), Michael Stuhlbarg (Call me by your name), Jesse Plemons (The power of the dog), and Sophie Wilde (Talk to me). While The plot details and title currently remain under wrapsThere are already sky-high expectations that make it one of Tom Cruise Most exciting dramatic projects in years.