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.