"The Master" tells the story of a critical moment in the rise of Lancaster Dodd (a slightly fictionalized L. Ron Hubbard) and his movement 'The Cause' (a slightly fictionalized Scientology) as seen through the often admiring eyes of Freddy Quell (described by Dodd as 'my guinea pig and protege'), a psychologically disturbed and intellectually limited ex-navy WWII veteran in 1950.
Like any of Writer-Director Paul Thomas Anderson's films, there's a hell of a lot of movie here, with much more going on thematically, dramatically and artistically than I could possibly hope to even scratch the surface of here. What really linger in the mind are the detailed depictions of the mind games Dodd plays to draw his followers in and the terrific performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Dodd, Amy Adams as Dodd's wife and Joaquin Phoenix as Freddy Quell.
Hoffman owns the movie as the titular Master - his depiction of Dodd is unforgettable. Hoffman has great material to work with in Anderson's script, but what he really brings out is Dodd's humanity. Yes, Dodd is a grandiose, pretentious and venal leader of a pseudo-scientific cult, who is part charlatan, part confidence trickster and part madman. But he is also an utterly charismatic man, who disarms with his bonhomie, self-deprecating wit and (apparent) utter confidence in what he is doing. Hoffman makes it impossible not to be drawn to Dodd and whenever he's on screen, he draws our eyes to him no matter what he is doing.
Anderson's most intriguing narrative choice is to not make Dodd the protagonist of a film that he dominates so completely, but to portray him as experienced by - and in relation to - Joaquin Phoenix's troubled, crude and at times violent perma-loser, Freddy Quell. Anderson also chooses to put concentrated focus on a moment in 1950 when Dodd is on the rise, encountering his first serious legal problems and publishing his all-important second book, which will transform 'The Cause' from a fashionable phenomenon to a worldwide movement. Put together, both of these choices help Anderson avoid the predictability and narrative staleness of the 'biopic' and get in close to the character and thematic details that really excite him.
There's a lot to be said for revealing a central character (particularly one as iconic as Dodd) through his relationship to others (as in "Citizen Kane"). However, Anderson's choice of Quell as protagonist and our main entry into the world of Dodd and 'The Cause' makes the film a lot less accessible and a lot more alienating than it could be otherwise, and I'm not sure if it gains much from that. Phoenix’s performance is certainly powerful and fully committed (man, did it make me miss Theodore Twombly from “Her,” though...).
Like Jennifer Lawrence's Rosalyn in “American Hustle,” Phoenix’s Quell is a very intelligent portrayal of a very stupid person. As a supporting actress in “Hustle” Lawrence’s performance is part of a great ensemble and adds to the texture of the film’s world and ups its dramatic tension in a believable way. But if Rosalyn were our protagonist and the story was told through her eyes and in relation to her? Not so much fun.
Anderson is a unique Writer-Director, a true auteur with an incredible range of gifts. “The Master” is one of those films that reminds me quite how alive grown-up cinema is in America in this second decade of the millennium and it has moments that I will not forget soon. I also respect the way that Anderson goes out of his way to avoid narrative and dramatic cliche and the choice to tell the story of Freddy Quell is certainly a gutsy one. It just makes “The Master” a film that’s a whole lot easier to admire than it is to love.
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