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Comment by kristiandupont | Hacker News Reader

This resembles my feelings towards Tom Cruise. I always thought of him as an action star and nothing more (well, a Scientology-kook as well, but that detracted further). But his performance in Magnolia was so convincing to me that I started seeing his acting skills in a different light.

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He is a good actor, no doubt there. He can be darn funny too, check ie his stint in Tropic Thunder.

That doesn't change the fact he has some very deep internal issues/fears that Scientology has managed to hook on very tight and kept their grip so effectively. It fucked up his marriages and is a stain on his brand/legacy that literally everybody knows about but respectfully act like they don't see it. Almost a bit like Truman show :)

From reports of people who know Tom Cruise, Magnolia was Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise, which is why he was so convincing in that role.

That Magnolia performance is a standout among fantastic performances. What a great movie.

Just like the Truman Show movie, I have always felt it's a bit underappreciated. So many great performances in that beautifully shot movie and such an emotional roller coaster. Although in many aspects a totally different type of movie, I think Uncut Gems was the first one since I watched Magnolia that touched me in similar ways. And just like with these other movies, it really changed my view of Adam Sandler.

Just in case you haven’t seen it:

The director of Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson) actually cast Sandler in a dramatic role a couple of years later (Punch-Drunk Love) that was also received very well. Might be worth checking out if you liked Magnolia (I loved that movie).

Punch drunk love is an amazing film.

Amazing Score/Soundtrack by Jon Brion too. If you like that then try Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I Heart Huckabees for their Score/Soundtrack.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is in that film and is great.

Thanks for the suggestion, never seen the movie!

I felt the same way about Tom Cruise until I saw Collateral, which quickly become my favorite movies of his and possibly one of my favorite movies of all time.

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