Coastal View News
Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the best filmmakers alive. He
made “Magnolia”, “Punch Drunk Love”, and “There Will Be Blood”, and all of these
films are brilliant. Each is a masterpiece. Now Anderson has a new film out
called “The Master”. This movie is quite good, and definitely worth seeing, but
I am not sure—at least not yet—whether it is brilliant, or a masterpiece. It
may be. It may not be. I just don’t know.
“The Master” centers on two characters: Freddie Quell
(Joaquin Phoenix) and Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Start with
Freddie. Freddie is a wreck. He is a drunk, letch, crook, vagrant, jerk, troublemaker,
nuisance, etc. Freddie does whatever he wants whenever he wants. And that’s not
a good thing. You could describe him as an extremely animalistic version of a
man, or else as a child—as no man at all. But however you describe him, Freddie
is clearly someone who needs structure, discipline and guidance.
That is where Lancaster comes in. Lancaster is the
charismatic leader of a cult called ‘The Cause’. His followers call him
‘Master’ (but they say it like it’s just an old college nickname). Lancaster claims
to be able to cure cancer, remedy alcoholism and boost one’s confidence. He says
things like “We’ve won the day!” and talks about secrets to living in the “bodies
that we hold.” He’s that kind of guy.
For some reason, Lancaster likes Freddie. It is unclear why.
Maybe Freddie amuses Lancaster; maybe Lancaster sees Freddie as some sort of
pet. Or maybe Lancaster wants to help Freddie; maybe he sees him as a pet project. At any rate, Lancaster thinks
he can give Freddie the structure and discipline that he so desperately needs.
And Freddie doesn’t have anything better to do. So he goes along with it.
In fact, before long, Freddie is fully immersed in the
culture of The Cause. He goes to all of their functions, he gets to know
everyone, and he follows Lancaster around like a lapdog.
Yet, it is never clear whether Freddie really buys it. On
the one hand, Freddie often displays fierce—even psychotic—loyalty to Lancaster
and The Cause. Plus, he regularly attends, and even participates in, many of
the rituals and procedures conducted by Lancaster. On the other hand, Freddie
infuriates other cult members by seeming emotionally detached and apathetic toward
The Cause’s guiding principles. So it is unclear whether Freddie is devoted to
The Cause, or just playing along.
One wonders what “The Master” is trying to get at. It is not
a smear. Its point is not to expose cults and cult leaders as fraudulent,
corrupt, or silly. Of course, Lancaster and The Cause are fraudulent, corrupt, and silly. Lancaster is also manipulative
and abusive. He is controlling, foolish, arrogant, and mean. But Freddie is no
better. Freddie, who doesn’t like playing by the rules, is a crass, hurtful,
self-destructive mess. He has no master, but maybe he could use one.
So it is easy, I guess, to think fondly of oneself as the
master of one’s own life, or else as a devoted servant, or as a leader of
others. What “The Master” does is make all this tougher. It needles at what it
means and what it takes to be a master, or have a master; and it really makes
you think about whether, and to what extent, you are, or should be, taking
directions from others.
“The Master” is without a doubt interesting and
perplexing—it is very different (a
lot of critics have called it “ambitious”, whatever that means. I think it may
just mean different, and also kind of
heady.). It is the kind of movie where you walk out of the theater unsure if
you loved it or if you were just impressed by it.
There is no denying that “The Master” is impressive. For one
thing, the acting is phenomenal. Anderson seems to have a knack for getting
actors to deliver almost unbelievable but absolutely unforgettable performances
(see Daniel Day Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” or Tom Cruise in “Magnolia”).
Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Freddie is along those lines. It’s a sight to
see.
So maybe you will love “The Master” (I think I might). Maybe
you won’t. It is worth finding out.
