Plot: The latest from acclaimed film director Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master follows the story of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) a WWII veteran consumed by sex obsession and alcohol. After WWII Freddie drifts from one meaningless job to another, his only pastime making moonshine and getting into fights. Then one day seemingly at random, Freddie finds himself on a boat with Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) also known as "The Master." A doctor, nuclear physicist, author, and theoretical philosopher, Dodd has developed his own religion called "The Cause." Recognizing a kindred spirit, Dodd and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) take Freddie under his wing. But can Freddie find himself before he self destructs? And is Dodd's "Cause" all a pack of lies he makes up to scam others?
Review: Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those directors you either love or hate. To say his films are esoteric and against the grain is a severe understatement. He's definitely a maverick in the film industry and I for one think he's a genius, somewhat in the vein of Stanley Kubrick. As such I think audiences are going to be polarized when it comes to The Master because it's not your run of the mill film. Like many of PTA's films, it almost bears several viewings because some of the imagery and themes are very subtle. While The Master certainly isn't PTA's best film, it is certainly another worthy edition to the director's impressive resume.
What I love about PTA as a director is that many of his films have an overriding theme they focus on. In Boogie Nights it was the moral gray areas of the sex industry, in Punch Drunk Love it was the complicated emotion of love, in There Will be Blood it was greed. In The Master the focus I think is on the role of faith in modern society, even though the film is set in 1950. PTA raises an interesting idea in the film, that being that there is a difference between faith and indoctrination. Faith is believing in something you can't physically see, taste, or touch. Indoctrination is consistently force feeding someone ideas and concepts over and over again without any critical thinking. The Master suggests (and rightly so) that indoctrination can be dangerous. It can give people false hope and cost them spiritually and financially.
Dodd for example is a classic example of this. Played brilliantly here by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Dodd is charismatic, thoughtful, intelligent, and cunning. His "processing" method is very interesting. I won't go into it because I think it is something you have to experience itself. Suffice it to say when Freddie gets processed the scene is riveting. Dodd is difficult to figure out. Is he a con man or is he sincere in his beliefs? Like many PTA films I think it is up to the viewer to interpret whether Dodd is crooked or not.
In a strange way the reason that Dodd comes across as so intriguing, is because of his counterpart Freddie Quell played by Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix gives a masterful performance from start to finish. If not for Daniel Day-Lewis, Phoenix wins the Oscar last month in a runaway. Phoenix lights up the screen with Quell's physical and mental scars. Quell is a broken man looking for meaning after a horrible war and a tragic past. Phoenix is somehow able to evoke equal parts pity and disgust for Freddie. He is as Dodd says, "a hopelessly inquisitive man." And sometimes when a man is "hopelessly inquisitive" or just plain hopeless and broken they will attach themselves to anything to try to find meaning and fulfillment. Freddie is a microcosm of the human condition as a whole. Are we special spiritual beings or are we at base animals?
I'd be remiss if I didn't remark on how gorgeous visually The Master is. From the setting to the costumes, the film captures post WWII America to a t. Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr.'s cinematography is breathtaking, with the cuts and jumps in rhythm with the sometimes disjointed nature of the characters, especially Freddie. Jonny Greenwood once again re-teams with PTA for a harrowing score, slightly similar to There Will Be Blood in theme.
The Master did have some slight issues to it. Amy Adams I didn't think was particularly remarkable as Dodd's wife Peggy, and certainly not Oscar worthy. The repeated water theme, the idea of man drifting along the river of time, aimless and directionless, is hammered home a little to hard. Additionally, the movie is too long by about fifteen minutes.
None the less The Master makes for enthralling cinema and another brilliant work from director Paul Thomas Anderson.
My rating: 9/10
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