The Master is a smart, intelligent and intriguing film by Paul Thomas Anderson about two men. One with no direction in life and the other a leader, trying to spread his controversial beliefs to the world through his work. Both men meet and friendship between master and student is born. It tells not one but two stories. The first is the story of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) a flawed former naval soldier with both a drinking problem and an obsession with sex. The other story is that of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) a man with great charisma, strong presence and equally strong beliefs in his great Cause to better mankind with the help of his family and his cult like following.
The film is about an important event in Freddie's life when he was finally given direction and was accepted into a new family, or cult depending on how you as the viewer see it. This is what the film does best. It shows you what the Cause is and allows you to decide for yourself whether what they teach is right, wrong or just another interpretation on the meaning of life.
The feelings you get from watching The Master are not easily explained because of the complex relationship between the two main characters of the film and because both characters are not the most likable of people. Freddie is a drunk, sexual deviant and Lancaster is a cult leader with an anger problem whenever anyone questions the flaws in his logic or beliefs. Lancaster also has a strong resemblance to L. Ron Hubbard founder of Scientology both in look and history. The actual point of the film is the relationship between Freddie and Lancaster as master and protege with Freddie becoming very devoted to the cause and even gaining a willingness to change his ways. Lancaster’s Cult known only as the Cause (named after his book) share many things in common with Scientology, from the way they recruit to how they act when someone says what they believe is a lie. For a major portion of the movie we see Freddie learning from the Cause, starting from the moment he meets them, giving us insight to what the Cause is, what their belief is and how they teach it. This allows the viewer to decide if what Lancaster tries to teach is real or lies from a man who wants to feel important.
There is no ultimate lesson to learn from The Master just the questions it asks. The film will ask you questions about what is taught to Freddie by Lancaster, and are his teaching’s true? Does Lancaster actually believe what he preaches or is he just making it up as he goes along just to name a few. This is what the film does and it does it well asking these questions. It makes you the viewer think, what exactly was the meaning or perhaps even the hidden meaning in their words to each other.
Though The Master is an excellent and well done film is does have its own flaws. The transition of time between scenes can feel much faster than is seen in the film. Dream sequences and flash backs are hard to notice because the film does not translate it well. For certain scenes this makes them seem like they’re happening in real time.
The Master is a film about belief, change, devotion and friendship. There is also a smart interpretation of cults, the men who lead them and how they bring people to their way of thinking. This film may not be for everyone, but people who want to watch something that will stay with them and make you think about its different subjects, then this film is a must see for you.