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Five years have passed since Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful fifth outing There Will Be Blood, which has been recognised as one of the top films of the last decade from critics’ list. While there are those who questioned the ambiguity of the film whilst highly praising Daniel Day-Lewis’ Oscar-winning performance, PTA’s latest is a more challenging drama that has gained much controversy over its analogies with Scientology, which can be commonly thought of as a bizarre religion.
Following World War II, the discharged veteran Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) struggles to adjust to a post-war society. When he meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who is the leader of a philosophical movement known as "The Cause", Freddie is accepted into the movement, but later starts to question the teachings of the Master.
If you were used to the non-linear narrative of There Will Be Blood, then you might feel right at home with The Master which is not the most plot-driven but more of a character study between the two male leads. From the early stages of the film, we are introduced to our troubling protagonist who constantly thinks about sex and drinks a lot, that he is unable to handle a professional or even personal life. Once he meets the eponymous master (loosely based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard) and his movement of which one sceptic describes it as ‘the basis of a cult’, Freddie believes in “The Cause” and sees it as a decent way of living.
The teachings of this movement is never fully explained as they do baffle Freddie initially and I imagine the audience, but one key scene where Dodd’s son says to him that the master is making up as he goes along, this is exactly the point of the film. Dodd is a conman who is putting on a show and somehow this appeals to some and works for them. However, despite the questions it raises, the heart of the film is the rather strange relationship between Freddie and Dodd, who respect one another for their individuality.
There is no such thing as a bad Philip Seymour Hoffman performance and there is no exception here as you are engaged by this character that should be unsympathetic as his teachings are preposterous, but there are moments where the movement is probably beyond his control, such as Amy Adams’ truly menacing wife who seems to pull the strings. Whilst you always expect great things from Mr Hoffman, it is Johnny Cash himself Joaquin Phoenix who truly dominates the screen. Like Daniel Day-Lewis’ Plainview, Phoenix presents a very self-destructive and physical performance as his violent behaviour can be unpredictable, especially in a jail scene involving the demolishing of a toilet, which is enough to gain him an Oscar.
As always, Paul Thomas Anderson is pulling new tricks on the narrative as it is not the conventional third-act play, but something more novelistic from the very talky sequences to the epic yet intimate imagery of Freddie’s distorted body; special praise to cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. and if you can see it in a 70mm screening, do so. Following his extraordinary score from There Will Be Blood, Radiohard’s Jonny Greenwood doesn’t let down as his subtle yet powerful music contributes to the course of the film and certainly in the intense scenes involving Freddie’s conversion to “The Cause”.
Whatever expectations (good or bad) you have towards Paul Thomas Anderson’s most divisive film to date, you will go in completely cold but hopefully come out trembling as I was. I know this is perhaps a cheap gag, but The Master is quite the master-piece.
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