The Master [DVD]

An incredible film, phenomenal actors showing us what their generation has to offer - scarily believable and beautifully nuanced. There is however a point about 2/3 of the way through where you ask yourself “how much of this is left?”

American screenwriter, producer and director Paul Thomas Anderson`s sixth feature film which he wrote and co-produced, premiered In competition the at the 69th Venice Film Festival in 2012, was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival in 2012, was shot on location in Oahu, Hawaii in the United States of America and is a U.S. production which was produced by producers Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi and Megan Ellison. It tells the story about an American man from Lynn, Massachusetts named Freddie Quell who after having served his time in the Second World War which has scarred him for life and been brought back to a civilization he no longer knows and is alienated by encounters a persuasive man on a sailing vessel called Alethia named Lancaster Dodd, also known as The Master.Distinctly and precisely directed by American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the protagonist`s point of view, draws a moving portrayal of a mentally afflicted war veteran who coincidentally befriends a leader of an enigmatic movement called The Cause. While notable for its naturalistic and colorful milieu depictions, sterling production design by production designers Jack Fisk and David Crank, cinematography by Romanian cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr, fine costume design by costume designer Mark Bridges and chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, this narrative-driven, at times romantic and somewhat scientific story about the aftermath of war and the conflicted personality of a former soldier depicts a pervasive and empathic study of character and contains a timely score by English composer Jonny Greenwood.This conversational, psychological, atmospheric and humorous drama which is set in USA during the 1950s where a friendship arises between a multitalented author, husband and father and a former seaman whom is going nowhere, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development, various characters, the distinct and extraordinary acting performance by American actor Joaquin Phoenix and the reverent acting performances by American actor and director Philip Seymour Hoffman and American actress Amy Adams. A heartrending, incisive and epic character piece which gained, among numerous other awards, the Silver Lion for Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman at the 69th Venice Film Festival in 2012.

Brilliant film with outstanding performances by Joaquin Phoenix and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Complex film which for me is a struggle between the delusional mind of the cult supremo, Hoffman, and the damaged mind of the war veteran, Phoenix, at the microscopic level. The Master has unsubstantiated beliefs regarding the infinite past lifes of the same person, accessed by a process of 'de-hypnosis', and a galactic conspiracy and consuming paranoia against himself and The Cause. Challenged by a sceptic at a New York party he explodes with profanity, and later with belittlement of Laura Dern, at the Phoenix First Congress of The Cause, who questions Book Two and a revision as to his pyschological method of regression.Joaquin's character 'Freddy Quell' is deeply troubled and likely suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from his wartime service in the navy, although could also be affected by his parental upbringing, his father a drunk and mother a pyschotic committed to a lunatic asylum. We first see him on a beach copulating with a sand sculpture of an Earth Goddess and then in a military hospital undergoing pyschological analysis, where he sees every rorschach test as a sexual object. Getting high on a home brew of industrial grade solvents and chemicals, he almost kills a man and flees to board Hoffman's ship as a stowaway. This is when the film kicks up a gear, and the dual between the 2 protagonists begins.The film blends dark comedy into its intelligent script, when Freddy undergoes his first regression session and farts at a question of The Master, vulgar childish laughter versus derision and condescension, 'you dirty animal' 'laughter is good'. Then there is the excellent Amy Adams, Hoffman's wife, who is committed to The Cause for a Billion Years and may be the real controlling influence behind her husband, The Cult Master. Delusional. Comediac moments abound with Joaquin riding off on The Master's motorbike, escaping his insanity to go back to the love of his life, Doris. But then he has abandoned her for 7 years and expects her to be at home in Lynn, Massachusetts waiting for him. Derangement.At the macroscopic level Freddy is dreaming these fantastic adventures, the bacchanal party where The Master cavorts with a slew of nude women, including his pregnant wife, is imagined by his unfiltered subconscious. The dark energy of his shattered id bubbles up orgies, fights in which he always triumphs, his anxieties at losing his sweetheart Doris, and being an aimless drifter. The Master is his reverse, his inverted rorschach test, successful, powerful, influential and in control, everything Freddy isn't. This is why Hoffman says at the beginning of Freddy 'You are so familiar to me, I feel I know you', during their prison argument they say they hate each other, yet make up instantly later. Freddy is dreaming on the sand beside his Gaia sculpture.Paul Thomas Anderson has put together a fantastic script and directed it brilliantly. The music is haunting and at times disjointed, emphasizing the loose wiring in Joaquin's mind, as he goes off the rails of normalcy once again. At times he is committed to The Cause and wants to believe in it passionately, until his ultimate disenchantment with its ludicrous teachings makes him flee. I watched all the extras and the documentary by John Huston, Let There Be Light, which was very powerful and moving about the treatment servicemen received during the Second World War, and their subsequent rehabilitation. Great 2 DVD set and a welcome addition to my film collection.

Excellent gritty, seedy and violent world of LA gangs. And the shady characters within.

This is very probably the slowest, dullest movie I have ever watched. You could pick just about any movie released at random and have a better time than wasting 2 hours with this nonsense.As with all PTA movies there is some nice photography, but that's not enough to rescue this.