The Master: A Stunning, Chilling Masterpiece

Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood) has delivered one of the more powerful, mesmerizing character studies in recent memory.  Buoyed by an all-star cast that deliver flawless performances and complete with deeply impactful writing and direction, The Master is one of this year’s best films.

Premise: A mentally unstable Naval vet arrives is lured into The Cause by its charismatic leader. Result: A stunning glimpse into manipulation and the consequences to its victims.

The film focuses on the life of a lost, broken man in the wasted shell of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix).  A Navy vet with serious mental problems and terrifying alcoholism, his instability is unsettling and worsened by the snippets of his wrecked life that Anderson chooses to show us.  And as he moves from job to job and place to place, audiences will be frozen, staring aghast as the creature seems incapable of anything but self-ruin.

But as luck would have it, one night when haplessly wandering the streets of San Francisco, he stumbles upon a small disembarking cruise vessel.  Attracted by the drunken events on board, he decides to take up the role of ship stowaway.  In the morning, awoken from a drunken stupor, he is introduced to the ship’s “captain”, Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), aka The Master, as many of his followers refer to him.  And so, with coincidence and luck, so begins a frightening journey into manipulation and personal, emotional slavery.

Dodd, a character supposedly loosely based on the eccentric L. Ron Hubbard who establish Scientology, is a magnetic personality, articulate, self-involved, and ponderously pompous in ways that somehow defy conventional logic, since they compel listeners to come closer and listen harder, rather than flee. He leads a movement referred to as The Cause, and his work has been ongoing, collecting hapless followers like moths to a flame, and with frighteningly similar results.

This Cause, as it is called, is a supposed call to enlightenment, an awakening of sorts brought about by a form of hypnosis that allows a person to go into their past and recall scenes that supposedly influence who they are.  It is referred to as a sort of time travel, and the method, a droning monologue or series of disruptive questions that mesmerize the object, are powerful, chilling, and finally revolting.

And so Quell, already unstable, is lured into this world and into this system, surrounded by all sorts of dangers.  These come in the form of Mrs. Peggy Dodd (Amy Adams), the woman at the right hand of The Master, yet firmly clutching the puppet strings herself.  Her chilling demeanor and allegiance to the Cause boils in a cauldron of unmitigated zealotry that seethes with cruelty and control.  And there is Elizabeth Dodd (Ambyr Childers), Lancaster’s eldest, married child, who flirts and fabricates with impunity, manifesting as treachery incarnate.  And Val Dodd (Jesse Plemons), his eldest son, and his doubts about the Cause, serve to provoke Quell’s confused allegiance, drawing out his unstable violence.

Ultimately, the film studies the characters as they confront their own versions of reality.  Thomas uses his brilliant directorial style to communicate nuance and subtleties in each facial expression, in each mood swing, in each shadow.  While there is certainly a plot and a story focusing on the validity of this method, the film is much more about the personalities that make up the story, the minds and means that drive people to such lunacy, and to such extremes.  There is always a chilling sense of rampant manipulation, and Anderson questions not only the bizarre, incoherence of a man who thinks himself above reproach, but also the relevance of religion as a fundamental philosophy.

As the film proceeds, we begin to understand each of the three main characters.  Whether it is Dodd and his self-righteous demeanor and disdain for doubters -there is a fabulous telling scene with follower Helen Sullivan (Laura Dern) that demonstrates this end or more blatantly in his debate with reporter John More (Christopher Evan Welch)- or Quell, who is subjected to all sorts of mental cruelty and manipulation, who ebbs and flows through stability, slithering from outburst to outburst as he tries to see through his paint-thinner induced fog and recall the true meaning of life.  And most importantly and most easily over-looked is the influence of the queen, the vile Peggy, whose haughty disdain for others is palpable and terrifying.

The acting in this film breaks boundaries.  Phoenix delivers not only THE best performance of his career, but a transformative one, using every aspect of his talent to cogently produce both a monster and a man, two equal but opposing forces that are in eternal struggle.  His physical transformation followed by his consistent mannerisms, laughter, and line delivery tell us more about this character than we could ever dream.

Hoffman, of course, is equal to the task, producing a magnificent Dodd, a man with more flaws than years on Earth.  He is a formidable con-artist, forcing observers to question their own views of reality: like a tea partier with a brain, this creature is dangerous and a force to be reckoned with, and Hoffman can do no wrong.

Adams also elevates her game in this film.  A notable, highly regarded actress prior to this film, here she delivers a frightening performance, giving audiences a sense for the depth of her talent, like a cinematic iceberg with more underneath than meets the eye. She is cold and controlled, coolly managing the scenes around her with effortless and unstoppable resolve.

In the end, The Master, while slow to some, is about as good as a film can be from an artistic perspective.  While it does not deliver action or thrills or even much in the way of a pronounced plot, this was never the intention.  Instead, The Master delivers insight into humanity, what makes us tick and what consumes us.  It is a sad commentary on the state of the mentally ill and the way they can be managed by emotional predators.  It is ultimately a powerful film that deserves a sound, thoughtful viewing…a treatment that anyone should agree on.

Rating: 9 – An expensive red wine and juicy steak that someone else is paying for and where you don’t have to put out