The Master

There is a brilliant scene in this film where Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character (the head of a spiritual group called The Cause) is grilling Joaquin Phoenix’s character with very personal questions, whilst being hooked to what appears to be a heart monitoring machine, and in return he must answer honestly and promptly (this is a significant practice known as “processing”). The close-up shots are powerful, and the performances between these two great actors are admirable. And it’s brilliant scenes like these that make Paul Thomas Anderson an incredibly unique filmmaker.

Ever since I read that P.T. Anderson was making a film about a cult leader, I simply couldn’t wait to see it – it’s fascinating to learn about how and why such vulnerable people are in need of guidance, like they need to be spoon fed and robbed of their free will. And then when word had gotten around that this film implies that it’s based on L. Ron Hubbard’s creation of Scientology, I was intrigued – indeed, Scientology is heavily targeted in the media as it's been criticised for its supposed cult-like practices and Tom Cruise. But this film doesn’t meet the brilliance of Anderson’s previous films, such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood. This is a good film, but nor is it ground-breaking. It simply didn’t exceed my expectations (or did I expect too highly of it?). The cinematography is beautiful (with some great lengthy all-in-one shot camera movements), the acting and directing are masterful, and the characters are fascinating. However, it’s one of those good films where something essential, perhaps soulful, is absent. Therefore this film just misses the potential of being as a great thought-provoking film.

Phoenix plays Freddy Quell. Freddy is a damaged man. A former seaman. A man who drifts from one job to another. And he makes his own alcohol (one of the ingredients he uses is paint thinner). Then one night, whilst walking along the river dock, jobless and homeless, he impulsively boards onto a small cruise ship. It is there he meets “the master”, Lancaster Dodd – a self-proclaimed writer, scientist and commander of the ship. He welcomes Freddy, and invites him to his daughter’s wedding (which is what the cruise is intended for). Dodd is fond of Freddy. We don’t know for what reasons, but we assume he sees him as an experiment. A helpless human being – participant in his research for “book 2”. Dodd is accompanied by his devoted wife, Peggy (Amy Adams), his newly wedded daughter, Elizabeth (Ambyr Childers), and her husband Clark (Rami Malek). There’s also Dodd’s son, Val (Jesse Plemons), who appears and reappears throughout the film – arguably because he doubts his father’s teachings. On the quest to cure Freddy of his unhealthy ways, Dodd, his entourage, and the growing number of followers of The Cause, watch this hopeless man go through a number of unusual obstacles to overcome his demons. Though uncertain as to whether Freddy is healing in the process, he grows to love Dodd – almost like they’re kindred spirits. But like any other father-son or brotherly-like relationship, they have their doubtful moments.

So, is Freddy cured in the end? What I understood from this film is that Dodd seems more lost than Freddy, despite his assertiveness and charisma. “He’s making all of this up as he goes along! Don’t you see that?” the young Val Dodd exclaims to Freddy, who subsequently pounces on him for disrespecting his father. Dodd is a very intelligent man and passionate about The Cause, but despite being a supporting character we are given little insight into his background (this is possibly the missing element that could have put a bit of spark into this film). Hoffman’s performance of Dodd reminds me of his performance in 2008’s Doubt, where he finesses an undisclosed dichotomy: is he a good-hearted priest or a paedophile?  We were left to make up our own minds. As Lancaster Dodd: is he making all of this up or does he really believe he has the answer to humanity? Again, we don’t know, but Hoffman has mastered this skill of playing a charismatic mentor who’s perhaps toying with vulnerable characters.

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Freddy certainly embodies a man full of regret and disturbing memories. His credible body language is awkward, primarily through bad posture, and his character’s emotions are somewhat immature – it looks as though his homemade, paint-thinner potion is eating away at him, both physically and mentally. A man having difficulty in re-building himself and searching for purpose by looking up to Dodd, just like how wannabe pop stars emulate their pop idols. This role is a good choice for Phoenix since he took some time off from acting to be loony for Casey Affleck (2010 doco, I’m Still Here).

Aside from P.T. Anderson’s incredible talent, there is something missing in this film. It maybe the lack of insight into the character of Lancaster Dodd. Primarily, for me it felt like there was the lack of certainty of what The Cause is trying to accomplish or bring forth for its believers. And without a doubt, there are common traits between The Cause and Scientology. For example, “processing” sounds a lot like Scientology’s practice of auditing. Another interesting fact is that Anderson has worked with Tom Cruise – I wonder what Mr. Cruise and his Scientology pals thought of the reception of this film? Have they actually even seen it? (They did try to ban re-runs of that South Park episode).

The first half of this film is entrancing, but somewhere along the way it stretches to a point where the fascination wears too thin – it may be at the lengthy montage-like sequence where Dodd is trying to cure Freddy – and it is from then that the beliefs of The Cause become unclear (maybe I need to re-watch this film to see if I missed anything). However, the one thing that amazed me about this film was that impelling “processing” scene between Dodd, the master, and Freddy, the follower.