One of Tom Cruise’s all-time great performances can be found in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 filmMagnolia. While Cruise has become a monolithic figure in the action genre over the last decade or more, he has starred in dozens of dramas and several comedies throughout the years, some of which includeA Few Good Men(1992),Rain Man(1988),Collateral(2004),American Made(2017),The Firm(1993), andTropic Thunder(2008). Thanks toCruise’s latest deal with Warner Bros.and modern interest in returning to dramas,Cruise could be the closest to eyeing his first Oscar win after last being nominated in 1999.
Cruise had originally starred in more traditional dramas, comedies, and other genre films before the meteoric rise of hisMission: ImpossibleandTop: Gunfranchises. He made his feature film debut in the tragic romantic dramaEndless Love(1981) before rising to prominence as the star ofRisky Business(1983),The Color of Money(1986), and the originalTop Gun(1986). Cruise has been nominated for 3 Best Actor Oscars for Born on theFourth of July(1989),Jerry Maguire(1996), andMagnolia(1999). Cruise has also starred insome impressive sci-fi movies, such as2013’sOblivion, 2013’sEdge of Tomorrow, and 2002’sMinority Report.
Magnolia Was Tom Cruise’s Last Acting Oscar Nomination - What It’s About
Magnolia was Paul Thomas Anderson’s third directorial effort
Magnolia toys with concepts of fate and coincidence to create an elaborate web of intersectionality between several robust characters.
Magnoliais one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best movies with a stellar ensemble castfeaturing Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Patton Oswalt, and more.Magnoliawas the third directorial effort by PTA after 1997’sBoogie Nightsstarring Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds and his feature film debutHard Eight(1996). Anderson, who has been nominated for 11 Oscars forThere Will Be Blood(2007),Inherent Vice(2014),Phantom Thread(2017), andLicorice Pizza(2021), is currently working on an untitled film starring Leonardo DiCaprio that is currently scheduled for a 2025 release.
With a 3-hour and 8-minute runtime,Magnoliais a truly unique viewing experience described as a psychological and dramatic epic. It’s one of those films that feature several characters in various scenarios that are seemingly unrelated to each other but ultimately overlap in meaningful ways by the film’s ending.The film takes place over the course of 24 hours in Los Angelesand toys with concepts of fate and coincidence to create an elaborate web of intersectionality between several robust characters.Magnoliais best viewed without knowing too much beforehand, as all of 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
Cruise had just recently come off starring in Stanley Kubrick’sEyes Wide Shutbefore starring inMagnolia, so his natural progression to a Paul Thomas Anderson film certainly trends.
Tom Cruise plays one of several integral characters inMagnoliabut is unsurprisingly one of the most memorable in the leading role. Cruise plays Frank T.J. Mackey, an aggressive dating guru in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles with a ridiculous and over-the-top approach to dating. A victim of generational trauma which has made him a highly misogynistic adult, Mackey comes up with his own philosophy and approach to dating and tries to inspire other disenfranchised men to follow in his footsteps by “taming” romantic partners.There is a palpable air of satire revolving around Cruise’s character inMagnolia, which serves a clear purpose in PTA’s visionary film.
Cruise had just recently come off starring in Stanley Kubrick’sEyes Wide Shutalongside Nicole Kidman before starring inMagnolia, so his natural progression to a Paul Thomas Anderson film certainly trends and fits logically. Cruise has played several characters that carry an element of satire and are caricatures of societal and cultural problems at large, with his hilarious role as Lex Grossman in Tropic Thunder serving as another example. Cruise was able to masterfully portray the problematic character of Frank Mackey to serve the purpose of PTA’sMagnolia, which is why he deserved the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2000, ultimatelylosing to Michael Caine inThe Cider House Rules.
Magnolia Is Still One Of Tom Cruise’s Best Performances
Critics praised Cruise’s handling of a complicated satirical character
Critics praised Cruise’s performance as one of the many key aspects ofMagnoliathat make it a grand cinematic achievement. Legendary film criticRoger Ebertwrote in his 4/4 star review of the film, “Magnolia is operatic in its ambition, a great, joyous leap into melodrama and coincidence, with ragged emotions, crimes and punishments, deathbed scenes, romantic dreams, generational turmoil and celestial intervention, all scored to insistent music.” He also called Cruise’s “T.J.” character a “loathsome stud” whose infomercials on how to seduce women sound like “they could have been scripted by Andrew Dice Clay.”
Stephen Dalton ofThe 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 theDetroit Free Pressshared similar sentiments on Cruise’s unforgettable performance. “Anderson’s ability to wring remarkable performances out of actors is proven not just by Cruise’s… scary-hilarious portrayal of the self-deluded misogynist Mackey, 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’s somewhat astonishing that Cruise has yet to be nominated for a Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards in 25 years. The fact thathe wasn’t nominated forTop Gun: Maverick, a film that Steven Spielberg credited for revitalizing a suffering post-pandemic Hollywood box office, sparked 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 inMission: Impossibleand likely would have been nominated for several Best Stunt awards had they been recognized at the Oscars.
Still, 25 years later,Magnoliaremains to be his most recent acting Oscar nomination. That fact could be subject to change due to hisupcoming movie with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, which will pair him with a slate of extraordinary and award-winning actors. Cruise will be joined onscreen by Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), 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). Whilethe plot details and title currently remain under wraps, there are already sky-high expectations that make it one ofTom Cruise’smost exciting dramatic projects in years.
Tom Cruise’s New Movie Has A Cast That Rivals Any From His Ensemble $4 Billion Franchise
Tom Cruise is set to star in Alejandro Iñàrritu’s next film which features an absolutely stacked cast full of Oscar nominees and winners.
Magnolia
Cast
Set in Los Angeles, Magnolia follows the lives of nine characters through interconnected stories revolving around a dying television producer, his estranged prodigal son, a young boy genius, and a compassionate cop. As a rare climatic phenomenon occurs, these individuals confront their pasts and seek forgiveness and attempt to grow from their past experiences.
