`Magnolia` - a swirling mass of humanity

When nine people set off in search of their lost or squandered humanity in the San Fernando Valley on the same day, well, all hell can break loose. Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights") set out to weave just such a tapestry in his intricate, disorienting, demanding "Magnolia" (New Line, R). Like a juggler who keeps adding objects to the swirling mass above his head, Anderson has to work hard to keep it all from crashing down around his audience.

Personally, I think he drops one or two - but on the whole, do you recall ever seeing a juggler manage nine unique objects at once? Me neither. The feat would not be nearly so spectacular if he didn`t deal in volume. The thing with "Magnolia," which Anderson also wrote, is that each of these lives is connected in some way to each other - a linear "Pulp Fiction" if you will. That fact becomes increasingly obvious as the story unfolds. After a while, it is difficult to not be intrigued by just how - or if - he is going to pull all these pieces together. For the answer to that, pull out the Bible and turn to Exodus, Chapter 9 (a clue that shows up repeatedly through the movie as the numbers on the side of an airplane, at a bus stop, etc.).

Anderson relies on the simple twists of fate to bring his party of nine to the same table. Chance meetings. Random acts. Diverted missions. An act of kindness. An act of forgiving. A lost service revolver. Normal everyday acts that when executed - or not - set off sequences of events previously unanticipated. We`re prepared for this curious impact of randomness in the prologue - three period pieces - films purportedly from the early part of the century, the 1950s and the 1980s, in which circumstances interlace and set into motion bizarre events.

It`s a long movie. You could make a real argument that the prologue could have been saved as vid candy on the DVD version. Anderson makes his case for the interconnectivity of life well enough without the prologue. His characters are distinct, intriguing, complicated and well-conceived. Any one alone would make a fascinating movie. Each one has a simple story to tell, and most of the stories are pretty common (for Los Angeles, anyway).

Such as the Los Angeles Police Department cop (John C. Reilly) who struggles to maintain his basic instinct for decency in the violent, dangerous and barbaric world of the street cop. There`s the young woman (Melora Walters) whose life is spiraling out of control, partly from an excessive abuse of coke and partly from the painful childhood secrets she can not bare to the world. There`s the former TV-quiz-show child genius (William H. Macy) who can`t function in a real grown-up world. There`s also a new child genius (Jeremy Blackman) who can answer every question except the big one - how can he win his father`s love? (Network television promptly cribbed from the film and produced a kid-genius version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" that was both painful to watch and fascinating in its mediocrity.)

Jason Robards plays a dying TV-show producer who wants to make amends with his son. The son - perhaps the most-talked-about cameo in the movie - is a TV star in his own right, a self-help guru who teaches men how to become sexual predators. Tom Cruise is brilliantly sweaty and energized in this role. Likewise, the ever-fascinating Julianne Moore, as Robards` young wife, is a woman on the edge. There aren`t enough pharmaceuticals in the valley to stop her from realizing that she has squandered her love and life and is about to lose the only man who mattered.

There are others. The nice thing about video is you can stop the movie and map out a grid on a legal pad. Just kidding. Go with it. Let these pained, longing creatures wash over you. Don`t try to figure out too much in the first sitting or the first hour of the film. Some answers come. Some will have to await the term paper of a University of California at Los Angeles film-school major 10 years down the road. The thing about "Magnolia" is that the movie doesn`t end when the credits roll. It keeps playing in your head. And that, my friends, is a good movie.ALSO THIS WEEK:

"Drowning Mona" (Columbia TriStar, PG-13) - Let`s see. Bette Midler recently starred in "Isn`t She Great." Danny DeVito was in "Screwed." And lucky us, we get them both in this unfunny slapstick turkey. Could they be sharing the same agent? Midler plays a despicable creature, loathed by everyone in town. Then she dies. Drowned in her Yugo at the bottom of a lake. Accident? Mercy killing? Murder? Sheriff De Vito must find out. Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell, Casey Affleck and Will Ferrell also star.

"The Beach" (Fox, R) - World wanderer Leonardo DiCaprio finds himself on an Eden-like isle off the coast of Thailand, populated by seemingly fun-loving escapees from the real world. Unlike the TV series "Survivor," you don`t get bounced off this island. Not alive anyway. Bottom line: Paradise isn`t all it`s cracked up to be. This lavishly shot-on-location thriller pulled a very un-Titanic $40 at the box office. Virginie Ledoyen, Tilda Swinton and Robert Carlyle also star. You might pair it up with "The Blue Lagoon."

"Beethoven`s 3rd" (Universal, PG) - A direct-to-video sequel - and why not? The franchise has pulled in $100 million so far. Somebody out there likes St. Bernards. Judge Reinhold comes off the bench, as does "Saturday Night Live" survivor Julia Sweeney.

"American Tail: Mystery of the Night Monster" (DreamWorks, PG, $15) - Another direct-to-video sequel from a franchise title. Fievel Mouskewitz returns. (Although I`m sure he was quoted in People magazine as saying that until he got the same salary and respect as Mickey Mouse, he was only going to do art films. ...)

"Jesus" (Trimark, unrated, TV drama) - It`s most notable achievement was being the first TV show to beat "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in the ratings. That`s got to be tougher than raising the dead. You know the story. Cast includes Jeremy Sisto, Jacqueline Bisset, Debra Messing, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Gary Oldman.COMING ATTRACTIONS:

Aug. 8: Direct-to-video sequel "Dragonheart: A New Beginning." Chris Masterson (oldest sibling on "Malcolm in the Middle") stars.

Aug. 29: Kevin Spacey and Danny De Vito are sales animals in "The Big Kahuna."

Sept. 5: The tepid theatrical realization of Bret Easton Ellis` controversial novel, "American Psycho."

Sept. 19: John Cusack stars as the owner of a vinyl record store in the very cool "High Fidelity." Also, from director Majid Majidi ("Children of Heaven") comes "The Color of Paradise."

Oct. 17: Plan ahead for something rare: a really successful sequel - "Toy Story 2."

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Robert J. Hawkins