The Master
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
Directed By: Paul Thomas Andersen
Reviewed by Danielle Muir

[rating: 2.5/4]

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Andersen (There Will Be Blood), starring Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and regarding the inner workings of what many have rumoured is a parallel with Scientology, it’s safe to say intensity is guaranteed.  But don’t be surprised if you leave feeling slightly uneducated and confused.

Plagued with a family history of shaky mental stability and with the horrors of war having shredded whatever natural personality he may have had, Freddie Quell’s (Phoenix) attempt to assimilate back into normal society fails violently.  Unable to keep down a job but with a knack for making liquor, he drunkenly sneaks upon a boat that’s hosting Lancaster Todd (Hoffman) and his devotees.  A self-confessed scholar, scientist, theorist, Quell soon grows attached to the only man who seeks to value and better him, as Todd himself practices his processing methods and furthers his studies into what he believes is true of humanity.

Despite devoted (and Oscar-nomination bound) performances from both Phoenix and Hoffman, this film drags its feet through the dirt towards a destination you assume will have some emotional pay-off, but irritatingly never eventuates.  Freddie Quell is repulsive, violent and a volatile danger.  His face is curled into a constant grimace; he’s barred himself from the world and doesn’t care about the opinions of others towards him.  I expected his character to develop somewhat over the course of his interactions with ‘The Cause’ and Todd’s methods – even from the friendship itself – but from what I can tell, he never advances – apart from channelling that volatility towards any doubters of Todd’s work.  The ending therefore is inherently frustrating.  Not only does the film seem to plod so slowly from scene to scene that you actively will it to conclude, but nothing significant occurs apart from interactions you’re desperately searching for meanings behind but can’t quite seem to decipher.

The scenes where the methods that Todd creates and enacts upon his followers are extremely fascinating and you can’t help but ponder whether these are based on actual religious practices, and how people genuinely react to such methods.  Phoenix’s reaction to the act of ‘processing’ i.e. the initial question and answer phase, provides the film’s most powerful moment and breaks through the burgeoning dislike you initially had for him (if only for a moment).  The rawness is breathtaking.

Maybe I missed the point, some deeper meaning or subtle revelation.  That is entirely possible.  All I can say is this isn’t a film that you enjoy the experience of watching.  The characters don’t have likeable qualities, are extremely intense (and often equally vulgar) in their desires and thirsts, and the progression of events not only doesn’t seem to build up to anything significant, but leaves you frustratingly unable to pick the right meaning from the actions of Freddie Quill or his motivations.