The Master
Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman,
and Amy Adams
Paul Thomas Anderson doesn’t have the quantity of directed
films under his belt, but the quality of his work is undeniable. There Will Be Blood, I still contend, is
one of the best films made in the last ten years. Anderson has transitioned
throughout his career, but his themes of greed, violence, and new beginnings
have remained a constant source of inspiration. The Master is grandiose and awe-inspiring, but it’s also complex
and confounding, all these qualities composed to make an altogether fascinating
and beautiful film experience.
Freddy Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a lost soul, damaged psychologically by his service in the Navy during the Pacific war but also by an
affliction towards self concocted liquor. Quell is an emotional wreck living
in the looming shadow of post WWII, angry, frustrated, depressed, manic, at
times individually but mostly wrapped together chaotically. Quell, purposeless
after two failed job attempts, drifts aimlessly into the company of one
Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the leader of a quasi-spiritual group
known as The Cause. Dodd immediately
becomes intrigued with Quell, to the point of calling him his protégé; but he
is also his personal experiment for application of his ideas. Dodd is a
charming showman, radically defensive of his beliefs yet compassionate towards
his followers. Dodd is not alone in his quest; his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) is
vastly influential to foundations of The Cause. Quell and Dodd quest America
together, searching for self-realization and affirmation of faith.
The Master roams
about themes of faith, failure, and vanity. Quell struggles with elements of trust
while Dodd is consumed, possible fooled, by his own manipulations of it.
Failure is throughout; each character seems to be defined by pasts marred by
disappointment. Vanity influences most of Dodd’s impetuses while Quell is
altogether too proud to admit his faults or allow room for change. While these
are great qualities to explore in a film, Anderson only allows so much
explanation or verification of the ideas observed. He also doesn’t allow for
much doubt, and in a film concerned with extremist faith, that can be
confusing. It’s a difficult execution for a narrative even in the capable hands
of Anderson.
The performances are magnificent. Phoenix is hunched and
haggard, moving through life with no cognizant idea of the next step,
consequence or otherwise. Hoffman is structured and charming, he moves
throughout the film staggeringly confident. He sings, dances, gives speeches
laced with hubris and bravado, all in an attempt to sustain any and all
influence he has achieved. Amy Adams is the tie that binds and again stunning
in another demanding role. Her character is one hundred percent dedicated to
The Cause, possibly more so than even Dodd himself. She is both the calm and
destruction of the storm. Hoffman and Phoenix are mesmerizing in numerous
scenes, specifically an interview conducted by Dodd that leaves Quell an
emotionally open book. Their characters
balance and counteract each other and are ultimately necessary for both to
exist.
The cinematography is nothing short of inspiring, it’s
impeccable. Depth of field, shallow focus, and vivacious wide photography mix
with vivid color palettes and ambitious, sprawling locales. Add those with the
70mm format that the film was shot in, and the miniscule and major both hold
authority over the viewer.
Whether it’s the perplexing nature of Quell’s addictions and
damaging motivations or Dodd’s deification and contention with his own beliefs,
it will leave more questions than defined answers yet it’s achieved in the best
possible manner. There is something altogether interesting about unexpected insights
into the lives of others; it’s a quality that The Master ambitiously and expertly achieves.
Monte’s Rating
4.50 out of 5.00
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