The Master: A Mesmerizing Drama

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson is considered about the cream of the crop of modern filmmakers. He's often referred to as The Next Stanley Kubrick even, which is, as far as I'm concerned, a silly statement. PT Anderson is one of the freshest, most talented voices in cinema, but he has certainly developed his own voice. He's not the next anyone, he's PT Anderson. As a cinematic master, he last graced cinemas with his magnum opus, There Will Be Blood five years ago. Now, he's back with a film that has a similar intensity not present in his earlier work. PT Anderson returns with The Master, and period drama shot on 65mm film that is every bit as captivating as its predecessor, if not quite as satisfying.

That's not how a film should be reviewed, though, is it? On so many sites, I see this film getting downgraded simply because it's not There Will Be Blood 2. The simple truth of the matter is The Master is a very, very different film from Blood. They share a few stylistic things in common, but in the end, here we have a much more intimate and smaller story about troubled people. It's not about huge character arcs or a complicated story; it's a glimpse into the lives of these flawed individuals.

Our protagonist is Freddy Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a man returning from WWII with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who is attempting to have a normal life, only that's not as easy as it seems. His mind is very messed up now, presumably a result of his devotion to the nation by serving in the war. Now, he cannot hold a job, has a major drinking problem, and has no direction in his life. One drunken night, he wanders aboard a yacht where he meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seamour Hoffman), the founder and head of a new religion known as The Cause. Dodd and Quell are opposites - a driven man who has devoted his life to leading others, and a seemingly hopeless drunk with no prospects or friends. The two become dependent off of each other, which leads to unexpected outcomes for the both of them.

It's best to leave the plot description vague because the plot itself is rather vague, not in an ambiguous sense, but rather because this is no more than a character study about complicated characters. What's perhaps the most fascinating decision behind the scenes here is how PT Anderson scaled back his filmmaking style quite a bit, moving the camera infrequently and avoiding the huge tracking shots he's known for. This is not to say that the cinematography was anything less than stunning, however. There is a strong style, but a much more subtle one than we've come to expect from the man. This subtlety also extends to the development of our two main characters.

From the script alone, these characters are developed to a point, without revealing their full complexities, which is where the absolutely flawless performances of Phoenix and Hoffman add considerable complexity to the characters. Anderson made an interesting choice; he let the performances create the complexity, and he just let his direction serve what was necessary to watch these two completely believable actors do what they needed to do. In a smaller role, it's also necessary to point out the amount of power Amy Adams brought to her role as Dodd's wife Mary. Unlike the other two, she has no scenes where she loses her calm or gets to be completely unhinged, but the subtleties of fantastic acting tell us quite a lot about who this woman is and why she's here.

Of course, if you've read any other reviews for this film, you're probably wondering why I'm not going off about how amazingly complex and hard to understand this film is. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm dull but The Master doesn't come off like a terribly cryptic epic at all to me. There is symbolism and great thematic work, but none of it is terribly complicated. There are a few things that leave room for interpretation, but this is not a puzzling watch. One thing I've certainly taken away from it is how little respect Paul Thomas Anderson seems to have for religious institutions. Between this and his previous film, we see despicable men running religious groups to serve their own egotistical purposes, because they want to rule, spirituality in both cases is not even present. Here, we see this very blatantly, and even get the metaphor of a dog and his master through Freddy and Dodd as their relationship develops.

Paul Thomas Anderson has described this film as a love story between two men, but I really think it's just a tragic tale of a man who does not have the function of being normal who wants to fit in. We see the characters in The Cause partaking in their makeshift family because it makes them feel good to fit into something that's bigger than themselves. Characters see (or invent) meaning in the universe for a sense of belonging, but Freddy's mental state makes him stick out even from this basic opportunity. This is a tragic, intimate tale that's remarkably well put together and something that will no doubt improve with age. 

9/10