The Master, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is a very "hardcore" Paul Thomas Anderson film in that it is a very deftly told, character-driven drama that can be at times fascinating with its attention to detail, and at other times frustrating with the lack thereof.
The story is centered on Freddie Quell (Phoenix), an unstable World War II veteran. The horrors of war are the least of Freddie's problems: he carries a lifelong history of emotional instability and impulse control issues. By chance, Freddie wanders onto a ship owned by Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman), known more commonly as "the Master." Dodd is the founder of a philosophy that centers on the "freeing" of one's mind by aberrant forces. His technique has given him a large, cult-like following. The rest of the film revolves around Freddie and the Master's relationship; Freddie sees Dodd as the friend and father figure he never had, Dodd sees Freddie (or, more accurately, the possibility of Freddie's redemption) as the ultimate validation of his belief system.
If you pay any attention to Hollywood news, then it will be obvious to you from the start that Dodd's character is a more-or-less direct evocation of L. Ron Hubbard, the father of Scientology. This film neither villifies nor honors Hubbard; rather, this film is an exploration into what his mentality might have been. Anderson suggests that Hubbard, as human as the rest of us, was fallible, a quality that made him likable but within the context of a cult, dangerous.
This story is well-within the skillset of writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, who has made a career of character-driven dramas such as this. When it works, as it did with 2007's There Will Be Blood, the film is captivating, drawing you into that bizarre world on the border of genius and madness that seems to be the hallmark of many an American hero. When it doesn't, you find yourself frustrated, because the film seemingly takes you to the edge of that wild place, then drops you off before crossing over. Such is the case throughout The Master. There are amazing, intense scenes showing the primal violence of Freddie and the magnetic charisma of the Master; then, the movie ends, and you realize you only got the slightest peek into the world of a cult founder and his disciples. We never get a greater sense of the world that the Master has created, or its past.
Although Joaquin Phoenix gives an amazing performance as Freddie, his character gets more screen time then he deserves. This approach worked in There Will Be Blood because the viewer stayed with the most interesting character, watching his rise and fall. In The Master, however, the most interesting character is not Freddie but Dodd. Anderson tries to show the charisma and character of Dodd through Freddie's eyes, an approach that, though not a complete failure, is woefully ineffective at selling the story. The rise and fall that we saw in that previous film is not present in The Master, ultimately making you wonder as you walk out of the theater what, exactly, you just watched.
Nevertheless, The Master is artful and interesting. It may be maddening when you think of how much more it could have been, but taken on its own merits, The Master is still a fine film. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
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