"The Master" (2012)

The Master

Rated R (for language, sexual content and graphic nudity)

2 Hours 17 Minutes

Starring:

Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Storyline:

A striking portrait of drifters and seekers in post World War II America, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master unfolds the journey of a Naval veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) who arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman)

Rotten Tomatoes Score:

87%

(Smart, powerfully acted, beautifully filmed, and solidly engrossing, The Master extends writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's winning streak of challenging films for serious audiences.)

My Grade:

C+

Well folks, we have our first major Oscar bait movie of 2012 in Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master". Hist first film since his masterful "There Will Be Blood". He also directed one of my all time favorite movies, "Magnolia" back in 1999 and is responsible for "Boogie Nights" and "Punch Drunk Love". With The Master, it's now become clear that he is become more strange and obscure with each new movie he churns out. The Master is not a direct retelling of the creation of the religion of Scientology, but it's pretty damn obvious that there are some parallels here. It's about a war veteran drunk drifter who stumbles upon a group of people who are part of The Cause. A new religion (as far as we know) led by the charismatic Lancaster Dodd. 

Like I said, there are clear cut similarities between The Cause and Scientology. However, it's never truly stated in this story as exactly what the Cause believes in. We get some of the practices they do and some of the smaller parts of their belief system. For instance, they believe invaders are after our souls, and our souls travel from one vessel to the next in various lives. It focuses a lot on past lives. But the film never really dives deep into the heart of what they truly believe, of what their focus is, what their goal is. The leader is just making it up as he goes (as is stated a few times in the movie) but what is his purpose? I would have loved if they spent some time prodding into the head of Dodd and showing us what his motives were and if he really believed that crap he was peddling or if he knew exactly what he was doing was BS and what his plan was. Was he in it for the riches the fame? Was he doing this so that he was able to focus and not drift like Joaquin Phoenix's character. This is one of the biggest aspects of the movie, and yet it felt empty and left completely open.

The primary story here was about the drifter. He was the prodigy of the Master. He is what would seem to be a lost cause suffering badly from post traumatic stress disorder and various other ailments. Not to mention he is a drunk who concocts drinks out of fuel from torpedoes and paint thinner.  The Master sees him as a potential version of himself. At least, that's what I got from it. And maybe if he can help him, and I genuinely believe he really truly wanted to help him, maybe it gives him hope for himself and his cause. But the drifter never really attaches himself to anything. There is never any actual hope for him. He is a loose cannon. In a way, the two main characters are very similar yet also completely different. It certainly created a beautiful dynamic between the two. But again, even the drifters tale didn't feel complete to me. This was a movie with a very large scope and had huge intentions, but it's as if Paul Thomas Anderson didn't really know where it was going. Perhaps he too was drifting with no clear destination. The Cause didn't seem to have an actual cause. Or they didn't let the audience fully in on the act. It would have helped establish the leader of the cause and his beliefs.

It concludes with not much being resolved or anything major truly happening. Was that the point? Was the drifter the masters first major failure? Yes, for sure...but what does that mean for the master? Is the drifter a total lost cause and is now lost in the world? I guess I would have liked more answers and a more cut and dry story. I'm well aware that not all movies need to spoon feed their answers to it's audience, and I usually love movies that are subtle. But if the answers and the message of the movie were there, I fear they were a little to hidden or a little to lost in the grand scope of the story. What was the point here?





The story may have been a little off kilter for me and definitely a bit disappointing, but where this movie truly succeeds is in it's performances. Granted, it was hard at times to understand what Joaquin Phoenix was saying with his weird lip thing, but when I could grasp on to what he was saying, he delivered arguably his finest performance. It was strong, powerful and moving. He really captured the essence of what it means to be lost, not only in your own mind, but in the world in general. He's a guy you aren't really sure if you are supposed to hate or root for and he does a masterful job conveying that. Remember when Phillip Seymour Hoffman played Rusty in the movie Twister?? Ha! He has come a long way. I never saw his Oscar Winning performance in Capote, but dear God can this man act the hell out of a movie. To me, he was the strongest performance in the film. It borderlines on haunting. He is brilliant at playing these eccentric characters and if I had to pick one Oscar contender for this movie, it would certainly be him. On a side note...can anyone else vaguely see Jim Gaffigan in him?? Hehe. Amy Adams rounds out the cast nicely. She always is good in every role, and I think this is probably the most fierce I've seen in any of her performances.

The Master is also shot magnificently. Easily one of the most beautiful films of the year. Stunning cinematography. Beautiful set pieces and locations. With that and the performances, it almost makes up for the weakness in the story. But not quite. The movie focuses so much on the tale of the drifter and the master so you expect things to have a purpose and reason, but they never truly do. And if they did...well I clearly missed it. Don't call me an idiot for not seeing it either, we aren't all Harvard graduates like you clearly are. I just wish the movie wasn't so subtle. Man, I miss when Paul Thomas Anderson created such huge character stories like Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He seems to be drifting away from that (pun intended). Don't get me wrong, he is still a great writer and director, but I just think for me he kind of missed it this time around. But what do I know, I'm just a silly little blogger.