The Master

There Will Be Blood is still my favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movie but The Master was pretty good.  At first I didn't have much of a problem with Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), but as the movie progressed I felt like I needed to separate Quell from Phoenix because the two don't belong together.  On the surface, Phoenix seems a natural fit to play the troubled, alcoholic Navy vet, but as the movie progresses I just found it hard to watch Phoenix’s interpretation of the character.  We begin with a look into what it was like to be in the Navy during WWII.  Lonely.  

The story starts strong as we are immediately tossed into the turmoil of military deployment-complete with graphic "sand women" sexual encounters.  We get to know Freddie as a possessed man who will go to any length to ingest intoxicating liquids-no matter how dangerous-but also as a very, very vulnerable soul.  When I had a hard time understanding why Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) put up with his erratic behavior and obvious vices, I thought it was because he makes a "drink" Dodd enjoys but it's also because Freddy is a child in a man's body.  Dodd immediately recognizes this and moves to both protect and manipulate Freddy simultaneously.  As the charismatic leader of what some people trust is meant to be Scientology, he sees himself as a God-like figure.  He needs to accept Freddie as is.  Love him and show him the proper way to live.

I started my separation of Freddie and Phoenix's interpretation of a brilliantly developed, multi-dimensional character when he stows away on Dodd's boat and they meet for the first time.  This is very early in the movie so prepare yourself for about two hours of crap acting from Phoenix.  As we travel around the boat and get to know others members of The Cause (Dodd’s organization), I prepared myself for something else.  I was struck by how beautiful this movie was shot.  Director of photography, Mihai Malaimare Jr., does a phenomenal job of showcasing the superbly appointed costumes and locations.  The muted colors provide a seemingly perfect filter for which we can watch this story unfold.  Malaimare’s never-ceasing camera movements lull us into a dream-like trance that is not too far off from what I would imagine Cause members feel as they go through processing.  Repeatedly answering the same questions in rapid succession in hopes of breaking through the filters we put on our own lives and hide behind when we don’t want to face reality.

 Hoffman & Amy Adams enrapture us in their world of complete, blind faith.  Much like Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, they are so spot on, I am in awe of their character development and commitment to roles, that would seem, they were born to play.  I won’t dwell on my dislike of Phoenix as Freddie, but I will say that he steals nearly every scene he’s in—in the worst way imaginable.  His interpretation of what I find to be an interesting and very human character just doesn’t work and comes across very forced and unnatural in delivery.  There’s a scene when Mrs. Dodd (Adams) awakens Freddie (Phoenix) and tells him he has to clean up his act after she confesses to her husband she believes Freddie, continuing on his current path, will be their undoing.  I find it ironic that Phoenix is the undoing of Freddie’s character having a fully believable interpretation in this film. 

There are definitely a few scenes that are not truly effective because I’m not sure if Anderson is alluding to some real tenet of Scientology or if he is fleshing out the precepts of The Cause.  Regardless, with all of Anderson’s movies we have been given a true onion with The Master.  I probably will not watch this movie as many times as his others that I enjoyed more completely, but it will still take a few viewings to fully grasp a story that only Anderson could tell.  I’m sad it’s so difficult for me to get past Phoenix because this really is a gorgeous movie with some outstanding performances that deserve Oscar buzz-if not hardware.

Flight

Romantic comedies :: single women as flight :: alcoholics

We go through the same thing over and over and over and over again.  At times you feel disengaged because it's just so much to consistently take.  How can one person be this self-destructive?  Bravo Mr. Zemeckis for not only bringing us into this dark, uncomfortable world, but for keeping us there for so long.  However, I feel a bit cheated (as I do with RomComs) with the ending.  For a movie that is so strong in many ways, the ending is just total crap.  There's no way that would happen. Ever.  So for the ending alone, I have to say the mark was missed.  Big time.

From the opening scene we witness a totally functioning Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington).  The aviators help perpetuate this illusion.  We have a grown man with big responsibilities.  It's clear his demons are just as big.  But he has become incredibly good at hiding and, if called out, dismissing said demons.  The whole movie is just this build to "will he or won't he".  We observe the limits to which every relationship he has is pushed.  It's not comfortable.  But that's the point.  How many people wanted to shut this movie off?  Disregard it as too long (this was my initial gripe)?  It's because it's deeply true in the emotions it portrays and evokes from the audience.  Denzel does an amazing job keeping us in Whip's cheering section throughout the tumultuous trip.

Don Cheadle is great as the lawyer who just wants to get his client off.  He's there to clean up the problem-with no regard for the actual problem maker.  He admits to not caring, buries evidence that hurts their case and basically acts as an indirect enabler.    John Goodman plays a fantastic direct enabler.  In the final scenes when Whip calls for Harling (Goodman) you know it's going to be good.  And he delivers.  I do think it's a bit overreaching though that people are saying he should be nominated for a best supporting Oscar.  Kelly Reilly plays a perfectly dysfunctional love interest although her back story scenes and weird Crash-esque introduction to the main story felt forced.

Flight does a great job of showing us the dark depths of addiction and just how seemingly incapable some people are of turning around once that far down the rabbit hole.  I think it also shows us that every choice matters.  This small step may seem like a slight divergence from the path, but we know once the flood gates have been opened, it's much more difficult to close and return to the path.  As simple as this lesson is, and as many times as we've been told, Flight reinforces that it really is our choice alone and we will live with the repercussions forever.  However big or small that step may be.