The Master

Sometimes a movie comes along and you just don't know how to feel about it. The Master is that kind of movie. Technically, it's a masterpiece. As far as direction, cinematography and performances go, there hasn't been a better movie this year. In fact, there probably hasn't been a better movie since that killer trifecta of 2007 (Into the Wild, No Country For Old Men and Paul Thomas Anderson's LAST near perfect masterpiece, There Will Be Blood, which is superior to his latest effort). Still, there is just something missing from the whole thing.

The Master follows Freddy Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a man who, after leaving the Navy, is a shell of himself. He's hunched over, hands on hips, face twisted into deranged expressions. He's a caged animal, ready to strike at anyone and everyone. Since his days in the Navy, he's having a bit of a problem fitting in with society. All he thinks about is sex and he moves from job to job to job. He's lost and a danger to himself and others. One night, he happens upon a boat, lit up like a Christmas tree and without a second thought, he stows away. The next morning, hungover, he meets the captain of the ship - Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a man of many hats - doctor, author, philosopher, and most importantly the leader of The Cause. Dodd doesn't seem too concerned that Freddy crashed the wedding of his daughter which is happening on the ship, and Freddy easily becomes his right hand man and protege. Dodd introduces him to his family, including wife Peggy (Amy Adams) and The Cause - a religious type movement that traces your past back billions of years and tries to erase your animal instincts. Freddy is a perfect subject.

Much has been made of Paul Thomas Anderson's "Scientology movie" but this isn't an expose of the controversial religion. In fact, it seems only the very basic principles are even based on Scientology. Anderson isn't interested in making a movie trying to dispel any religion. He's more interested in the dark and twisted relationship between these two men (is it brotherly? father / son? master / slave? homoerotic? or a little bit of all these things?). As far as character studies go, The Master is aces. And Anderson isn't going to let his audience off the hook lightly. There are no easy answers here. If you want a movie that's "about" something, Anderson isn't going to tell you what it is. You have to figure it out for yourself. But The Master is, indeed, about something. It's about a lost and possibly insane man who is wandering through this big, scary world with no direction and no future. He meets a man, probably a fraud, who wants to give him meaning. You can argue that The Cause is a failure because, in the end, it doesn't diminish his animal instincts. However, in the end, it helps him to find a way to fit in with society, so maybe The Cause did work for Freddy after all.

As far as the performances go, you won't see finer performances this year. Of that, I am certain. There has been much made about Phoenix's raw and fiery performance as Freddy, and all of the praise is definitely worthy. This is the best he's ever been - a caged animal, set loose into the crazy and scary world. He listens to no one and is controlled by no one. He's definitely a man who is marching to his own drummer. As good as Phoenix is, I actually prefer Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance just a bit. His Lancaster Dodd is a lying, manipulator. A self-assured leader of a fraud movement that somehow manages to help people. These two actors alone are reason to see the movie. The dueling aspect of these fine performances is superb, from the processing scene to that amazing scene in the jail, I wish they could both win the Oscar. While Amy Adams, as Dodd's loyal and steely wife, doesn't have the big, showy scenes that her male counterparts do, she may give the finest performance in the film. It's a quiet and under the radar performance of a woman who, on the surface, seems to be merely standing by her man, but under all the layers there is a portrait of a puppet master, controlling all the people around her .

Will you see a better movie this year? I can't be certain. I will praise The Master along with everyone because, like I said, it's a technical masterpiece. It's the kind of film that will stand the test of time and become a classic of this generation. Still, my one big problem with it is this: I walked away not feeling anything at all. And I can't decide if that's a good thing or not. Art for artsake is great, but all great art needs to have feeling too, right? And there just isn't any of that here. So far this year, my favorite movie has been The Dark Knight Rises. It's a good movie, but it's flawed for sure and as far as technicality goes, The Master far surpasses it. Still, The Dark Knight made me feel so many different emotions and most of all, it left me feeling satisfied. I can't say The Master did the same thing.

Grade: A-