The Master

Composite Score: 81.4

Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons, Ambyr Childers, Rami Malek, Jillian Bell, Madisen Beaty, and Laura Dern

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson

Genres: Drama, Psychology

MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, graphic nudity, and language

Box Office: $28.26 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                The Master is an incredibly well-acted film about a naval veteran who joins a cult and his experiences with its various members. Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman both deliver awe-inspiring performances throughout the film as the cult joiner and leader respectively. The film’s story is interesting, following the movements of both the cult and its members without making glaring condemnations or praises of the cult’s practices. Even Freddie’s (Joaquin Phoenix) actions within and outside of the cult are given very little moral judgement over the course of the film. The film is also beautifully shot, with each frame appearing as a photograph, delighting audiences in the midst of a story that oscillates from boring to shocking quite rapidly.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                The film’s lack of overall statement is its biggest downfall. Films about cults usually have some societal commentary to make or a sweeping statement about the dangers of cults or charismatic leaders, but The Master doesn’t want to go that route. Paul Thomas Anderson seems content to simply show audiences this story about disenchantment, alcoholism, and cult practices without offering any insight into the moral implications of any of those topics. The film never condemns nor praises Freddie or Lancaster (Philip Seymour Hoffman) for their actions, it merely presents them, asking the audience to pick sides or make judgements on their own. On the one hand, this is a great tactic to get the audience involved, but it also alienates those audience members who want more open statements on morality from their entertainment.

                The lack of moral statements in the film also creates a narrative with conflict that is both limited and ambiguous. In its moments of conflict, the stakes are consistently low, mainly focused in the immediate moment of the film with very few far-reaching consequences. Even within the overall narrative, the conflict of the film is difficult to sus out. It could be that the conflict is between Freddie and Lancaster over which one determines Freddie’s mental health; it could be between Freddie and his own issues, which are not really resolved by the end of the film; or it could even be between Freddie and the cult, representing society’s desire to control humanity, which is in my mind the most plausible explanation of the film’s conflict but also its least intensely explored.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                Phoenix’s and Hoffman’s performances are stellar. Both actors deliver award-nominated showings as their respective characters, and it shows. Phoenix shows Freddie to be troubled and hesitant but headstrong and incredibly driven to perform and achieve and be accepted by society without wanting to change anything at all about himself. He plays perfectly off of the charismatic and jovial Lancaster Dodd that Hoffman delivers. His cult leader is patterned fairly obviously after the real-life cult leader L. Ron Hubbard, and his simultaneously spiritual, intellectual, and outspoken portrayal speaks to the level of acting that Philip Seymour Hoffman is capable of.

                Two scenes where the actors shine particularly across from each other, which really elevate the film as a whole are the interview scene and the jailhouse scene. Toward the start of Freddie’s time with the Cause, he is interviewed by Lancaster in what Dodd calls “Processing”. Over the course of the questioning, both men shift from subdued to heavily invested, almost going at each other physically with questions and answers that keep the audience gripped on a scene with two men asking and answering basic questions across a desk from each other. The jailhouse scene is the antithesis of the interview scene, featuring the two men after their arrests screaming insults and profanities at one another in a time of crisis. In this scene, the audience catches a glimpse of the true contrast between the two characters, specifically in how each handles conflict and pressure. Freddie’s reaction is physical and animalistic, breaking the toilet in the room and fighting tooth and nail against the arresting officers. Lancaster contrasts with that by simply standing in his cell, analyzing Freddie and shouting his diagnoses and condemnations through the bars at the other man. Again, both actors deliver intense performances and make each other better in the process.

                The Master’s visuals, acting, and the symbiosis of its leading performances make it worth watching. Conversely, its lack of moral statement and its ambiguous conflict and resolution keep it from reaching higher on the list. All told, the film certainly makes sense as one of the greats but also does not need to immediately make the top of a must-watch list.