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Great Scene: "Magnolia" (Linda’s meltdown)

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I’ve already featured one Great Scene from Magnolia here — the famous frog scene. But the movie is full of memorable moments worthy of attention, including this one: 

    INT. PHARMACY - THAT MOMENT

    The YOUNG PHARMACY KID is stacking some stuff away while waiting    for the PHARMACIST to finish filling the prescription.

                               YOUNG PHARMACY KID                     Cats and Dogs out there, huh?

                               LINDA                     mmmhmm.

                               YOUNG PHARMACY KID                     Must have alot goin' on for all that                     stuff you got back there, eh?  You could                     have quite a party all that stuff....

    Linda looks down.  HOLD.  BEAT. THEN:

                               YOUNG PHARMACY KID                     You been on Prozac long?  Dexadrine?

                               LINDA                     ...I don't....

                               YOUNG PHARAMCY KID                     Interesting drugs.  Dexadrine's basically                     speed in a pill.  Y'know?  But I guess                     a lot of doctors are balancing out                     the prozac with the dexadrine, eh?                     That Liquid Morphine'll knock you down,                     out, around, up and down someone's                     not careful.....can't mix those up, y'know...                     ...Must have a lot goin' on in your life for                     all that stuff there.

    The Older Pharamacist DINGS his bell and the Young Pharmacy Kid    gets the bag and starts to ring it up.  SLOW ZOOM IN ON LINDA as    he babbles away;

                               YOUNG PHARAMCY KID (OC)                     Strong, strong stuff here, boy...wow....                     What exactly you have wrong, you need this stuff?

    LINDA snaps.  She starts to tremble and cry and build --

                               LINDA                     You motherfucker...you motherfucker....                     YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?                     WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

                               YOUNG PHARMACY KID                     -- what-what-what, ma'am -- I --

                               LINDA                     I COME IN HERE - YOU DON'T KNOW,                     YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE FUCK I AM                     OR WHAT MY LIFE IS AND YOU HAVE THE                     FUCKING BALLS, THE INDECENCY TO ASK                     ME A QUESTION ABOUT MY LIFE --

    Linda PUSHES a large DISPLAY over on it's side, SMASHES things on the    counter, throws things around, basically goes nuts.  The Older    Pharamacist comes rushing to the front to try and calm things --

                               OLDER PHARMACIST                     Please, lady, why don't you just calm down --

                               LINDA                     And FUCK YOU TOO.  Don't you call me "lady."                     I come in with these things, I give it                     over to you, you doubt, you make your                     phone calls, check on me, look suspicious,                     ask questions, "I'm sick." I HAVE SICKNESS                     ALL AROUND ME AND YOU FUCKING ASK ME MY LIFE?                     WHAT'S WRONG?  HAVE YOU SEEN DEATH IN YOUR BED                     IN YOUR HOUSE?  And where is your fucking                     decency?  That I'm asked questions "WHAT'S WRONG?"                     You suck my dick, that's what's wrong and you,                     you fucking call me "lady."  You SHAME ON YOU.                     SHAME ON YOU. SHAME ON BOTH OF YOU.

    She THROWS a crumpled STACK OF MONEY at them both, grabs the    PRESCRIPTION and heads for the door --

The scene builds to Linda’s final line: “SHAME ON YOU,” repeated several times. And yet isn’t part of the subtext here that the shame she’s feeling is about herself, her drug addiction, and her messed-up life? Here’s the scene in the movie:

The scene starts small, then grows bigger and bigger, finally ending with a huge explosion. Remarkable stuff, terrific performance by actress Julianne Moore, and definitely a great scene.

Any PTA fans out there? What’s your favorite Anderson film?

5 thoughts on “Great Scene: "Magnolia" (Linda’s meltdown)”

  1. I think if you're a fan of cinema, you're automatically a PT Anderson fan.

    Without getting too personal, "Magnolia" caused a HUGE catharsis for my wife. We saw it in the earliest days of our marriage and the film brought out some terrible things from her past which, in turn, forced her to face them (in therapy, of course) and really move on with her life. So not only do I respect the craftsmanship on display there but I'm eternally grateful to film as well.

    Like the Coens, it's really tough for me to zero in on my favorite film of his. PUNCH DRUNK LOVE is probably it, but SIDNEY (HARD EIGHT) is a close second.

  2. Boogie Nights and There Will be Blood are masterpieces in my opinion. The latter definitely got snubbed at the Oscars that year.
    He's a master of subtext and not once will you feel like he's pointing to a certain 'message' or 'lesson' yet you come away having learned so much about the characters.

  3. That's tough because all his films are masterpieces, and they are so different from each other, save for all being about lonely desperate people. "Magnolia" helped make me want to write something that wasn't the norm. "Punch Drunk-Love" was like watching a modern romantic fairy tale and a moving painting and symphony all at once. "Boogie Nights" is almost a fantasy in how it's world is so atmospheric and nostalgic, and yet you see both the glitzy highs, and nasty lows of the porn industry. And then "There Will Be Blood". Best film of the 2000's, and dare I say 2000's and 90's combined. Cinematic Heaven.

    There is no clear choice.

  4. Magnolia is absolutely awesome. Thanks for posting this clip and script.

  5. I was struck by how much better the filmed version is than the scripted version. All the words are the same, but the silences at the beginning of the clip, the suspicious looks, the music, and the facial expressions really make the filmed version. You feel such a weight and heaviness there. It had been a while since I'd watched the scene, so, when I read it, the kid was just babbling in my head, rattling on, maybe even trying to make conversation – so Linda's outburst seems like an overreaction. In the filmed version, it feels justified. I was completely rooting for her.

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