- Who is your master?
First on a personal note, I'd like to
thank those who read my reviews from black and white month.
Overwhelming success, especially when looking at the hits for my
Persona review, so thanks!
I was invited to watch The Master with a friend and really I couldn't see any reason not to watch it. It has a pretty solid cast, and a director who is meticulous, which is certainly something that I can understand. While I have seen very few movies by director Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) of the ones I have seen, I wasn't bored even if the story wasn't my thing. He might just bring the best out of his cast, and so when added with actors whom I already appreciate going into the movie, I couldn't see why it wouldn't be my money's worth...
I was invited to watch The Master with a friend and really I couldn't see any reason not to watch it. It has a pretty solid cast, and a director who is meticulous, which is certainly something that I can understand. While I have seen very few movies by director Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) of the ones I have seen, I wasn't bored even if the story wasn't my thing. He might just bring the best out of his cast, and so when added with actors whom I already appreciate going into the movie, I couldn't see why it wouldn't be my money's worth...
I wouldn't go as far to say I have any
followers of Scientology amongst my readers, but if I happen to do
so, fair warning that The Master is a movie with incredible
similarities to L. Ron Hubbard and his religious organization. PTA's
story is about an organization called “The Cause” but it isn't so
much about them in a way that is preachy or even so much negative in
the normal sense of the word. The movie is more about the general
co-existence of Freddie Quell (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and the
Dodd family, though mostly Lancaster Dodd (played by Philip SeymourHoffman) and Peggy Dodd (played by Amy Adams). Freddie is a young war
vet of WWII. After some failed jobs, extreme alcoholism and general
debauchery he meets a character who describes himself as “a writer,
a doctor, a nuclear physicist and a theoretical philosopher. But
above all, I am a man.” This line alone made for a great
introduction to The Master Lancaster Dodd but throughout the movie
you shall find that Lancaster is full of strong speeches due to his
charismatic nature and perhaps his ability to think on his feet.
Freddie is helpless to Lancaster's whimsical words and hypnotic
trance. He is a faithful lap dog, and while given ample
opportunities to leave, can't due to the respect he has to his
master. I found myself helplessly feeling sorry for Freddie shortly
after the “wall to window” scene. He is so misguided by the cult
and is certainly no better from the help they give him. It is
nothing short of tragic that organizations can fool the misguided so
easily.
The story is, for the most part, a
linear one but often the story has a few cut-aways and while most of
you may simply understand you are not looking at reality but a
character's thoughts, some readers may find it a bit confusing when
there are scenes of nudity out of nowhere. There are also some
scenes that many interpret as dream sequences or large metaphors and
while I don't believe the latter, I will allow for other
interpretations, especially the final 30 minutes of the movie. I
believe The Master is certainly a film that allows for creative
interpretation, and I have just picked mine, even if to others there
are holes in it.
 |
| Awkward. |
I loved the costumes, sets and general
feel of the movie. Granted, I never lived in the time period so I
guess it just feels to me what 1950s was like. You old-timers are
welcome to add your two cents here. The cinematography is really
something, again another sign of PTA, though this time it wasn't his
usual cinematographer. I mentioned earlier my love of the actors
going into the movie and Philip Seymour Hoffman really didn't
disappoint me, he owns all his roles but I think maybe just due to
the screen time, Joaquin Phoenix really stole the show. Though
honestly with this being some serious Oscar-bait (perhaps the
faux-scientology thing won't be judged poorly) I could see either
actor up for an award.
The skinny is it's quite the movie,
it'll leave you asking questions. Maybe you didn't understand it,
maybe you did. You'll have some questions and it's going to be quite
the journey to get to the end with it's long runtime (2h15m) so I'd
advise the average movie goer to skip out on this, as the pace isn't
really light or fluffy. It's a serious piece that requires patience
and intellect.
I give it 8/10
PS: I know who my master is and am far
from free.
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