(Paul Thomas Anderson, US 1999, 188 min.)

The intersecting, troubled lives of a motley assortment of Angelenos at the end of the 20th century provide the center of auteur filmmaker Anderson’s ambitious and rewarding third feature. Breathtakingly edited and concluding on an almost biblical level, the film is ultimately carried by its amazing cast: Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Robards (in his final film), Philip Baker Hall, and, in the role of a lifetime, Tom Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey.