Revealing mistake: At the beginning of the film (in the short story about the man who jumps off a building and is shot and killed on the way down), the bullet is supposed to have killed him instantly, but the actor still puts his hands in front of his face very quickly when he hits the window cleaner's net a few floors down.
Magnolia (1999)
1 revealing mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, Neil Flynn, Pat Healy, Genevieve Zweig, Mark Flanagan
Genres: Drama
Other mistake: When Earl's wife is pulling into her garage after picking up the medication, wet tyre marks (presumably from previous takes) are visible on the garage floor.
Earl Partridge: This fucking lie... it's so fucking hard, so long! Life ain't short, it's long, it's long, God damn it.
Trivia: During the beginning of the movie, and a little in to it, the number "82" appears 6 or more times, in various places (tattoo on guy being hanged, time is 8:20, etc.) If you consult a bible, you will see that in Chapter 8, verse 2, in the book of Exodus, the passage talks about the appearance of frogs when Aaron holds out his hand.
Question: What do the frogs stand for? Is it a biblical reference, or could the screenwriters just not think of a better way to wrap up?
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Answer: It's much debated the exact meaning, but it's kind of a reference saying that seemingly impossible things do happen. As we see later in the film, people stuck in similarly impossible situations might just have a chance of getting out of them.
RJR99SS