First Impressions of "The Master"

How do you categorize the new Paul Thomas Anderson film, "The Master"? First, it's a period film that takes place in the late 1940s and early 50s, and our protagonist, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a sailor recently returned from WWII. He falls under the influence of the charismatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the Master of the title, who is forming a cult around himself based on past life therapy, intense self-help tactics, and other quackery. This certainly makes the film one of the handful of recent psychological thrillers about cults ike "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and "The Sound of My Voice." The central concern is with the struggle of the alcoholic Freddie to better himself, so it also fits the patterns of an addiction narrative. Finally, the curious relationship of Freddie and Dodd is not of master and protégé, as I had gone in expecting, but a far more primal connection that leads me to conclude that "The Master" can also be considered a very unusual boy-and-his-dog story, with Freddie as the problem dog.

Before we get any further in, there are some preliminary matters that need to be addressed. As you've probably heard, there are some clear similarities between Dodd's ideology, called "The Cause," and Scientology. Naturally, Dodd is reminiscent of scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard as well. However, "The Master" is not meant to be some thinly-disguised takedown of Scientology, and works perfectly well if you think of the Cause as simply a generic cult, so I won't discuss the connections any further. Also, though highly acclaimed I doubt that "The Master" is going to gain much traction with the general moviegoing public because of the very adult and mainstream-unfriendly content. Freddie Quell is an alcoholic and has problems controlling his temper, but also lacks control over sexual impulses, which Anderson chooses to portray with very graphic and disturbing visuals. There is nothing particularly aberrant or distasteful here, but still the way that Anderson uses these elements makes an unusually strong impact that I'm sure many viewers will find unpleasant to experience.

There are already a slew of critics and film lovers who are trying to make "The Master" fit various interpretations and connect to larger themes, but I found it to be a pretty simple narrative at its core. Freddie is a miserable human being suffering from multiple traumas and personal defects who literally stumbles into Dodd's inner circle one night. Dodd is intrigued by Freddie's venal, unstable nature and befriends him with the intent to reform and better him. Freddie travels with Dodd and his extended family, including wife Peggy (Amy Adams), daughter Elizabeth (Ambyr Childers), son-in-law Clark (Rami Malek), and son Val (Jesse Plemmons) as they move from place to place, spreading the word about the Cause. Some of Dodd's techniques are helpful, but as Freddie grows closer to the members of the Cause, the more he also finds reason to doubt. Ultimately, he has to make the choice to be a follower or to strike out on his own uncertain path, to accept the constraints of the cult or to give up the only meaningful relationship in his sad, sorry life.

The primary joys of "The Master" are the performances of Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, with a notable assist by Amy Adams. Phoenix gets the most to work with here, bringing out the demons of Freddie Quell, a scarred, twisted figure who often seems to physically stagger under the weight of his unhappiness. Phoenix's usually handsome face is haggard and grimacing, and he has the habit of talking only from one side of his mouth. He is frequently referred to as animalistic, and far more comfortable taking direct action than those around him. As Dodd verbally pokes and prods at his psyche, Freddie returns physical blows. Then you have Dodd, the self-styled intellectual who Hoffman gives a great charm and magnetism. He is introduced as the polar opposite of Freddie, a successful family man and author who has all the answers, and seems to be charting his own path toward greatness. However, his vices and faults are gradually revealed to be the same as Freddie's, and maybe that's why he likes the young man so much. Watching the two interact is fascinating, and clearly far more important to Anderson's narrative than any of the particulars involving the cult.

But just what is Anderson trying to say with "The Master"? These are two men from entirely different worlds who discover that they cannot change for each other and cannot compromise their own natures, and yet they are connected and benefit from their association with each other, albeit briefly. What are Freddie Quell and Lancaster Dodd meant to represent, if they represent anything? Are they two parts of a whole? Two extremes unable to find a happy medium? Are they each other's worst enemies in disguise? Are they each other's greatest temptations? Or are they each other's missed chances at salvation? Anderson deliberately leaves it ambiguous, but recurring motifs present clues. Maybe I've been watching too much Antonioni lately, but I found the various environments the characters travel through to be a good indicator of their mental states. Freddie and Dodd first meet at sea, and repeated shots of a boat's wake pattern occur throughout the film. The ocean is traditionally a metaphor for the mind, with its murky depths and mercurial moods. Later we find them in the greenery of suburbia, the immensity of the desert, and finally an icy institution on a distant shore.

And what about the character of Peggy? Amy Adams doesn't have nearly the amount of dialogue as either of the male leads, but her constant presence and the immediate weight of her few major scenes make her a key player. Here is a young woman, heavily pregnant during most of her appearances, whose temperament is not that of a passive follower in the cult, but that of an unusually clear-eyed partner and defender of Dodd. Where is she on the continuum of rationality and instinct that define the two men, or is she meant to be something else entirely? At times Peggy seems to be more extreme in her devotion to the Cause than her husband, so is she the real Master in this scenario? Or do she and Dodd share the position, acting as surrogate parental figures to Freddie as they try to civilize and socialize him? There's something very deliberate about the portrayal of the women in the film that I can't quite put my finger on, but I think it may have to do with the fact that none of them are passive or victimized figures, while Freddie is frequently shown to be subjugated by his intense sexual neuroses.

It's always hard to judge the quality of movies like this because of their opacity. Technically, "The Master" is very impressive, particularly the sinister, exacting cinematography matched up to a soundtrack full of discordant notes and period schmaltz. I thought the scripting was a little weak in some places compared to Anderson's previous work, but the performances are so good that they make up for it in spades. I don't think that "The Master" is quite on the same level as "There Will Be Blood," because it's a much less cohesive vision, but I get the feeling that the more I dig into the film, the more rewarding it'll turn out to be. It certainly kept my attention for the whole of the two-and-a-half hour running time, and I expect I'll be seeing it again soon.
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