The Master

The Master (2012)
Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
I had been looking forward to The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth feature film, since I first heard it rumored. While I haven't seen his debut, Hard Eight (1996), I have absolutely loved each of his films since, with There Will be Blood (2007) easily being one of my five favorite films of all time.

There Will be Blood introduced a stark, even more tense feel to Anderson's canon, and The Master continues that. Gone are the blatantly quirky if not plain bizarre plots and characters of Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love; it seems Anderson's character studies of tortured, detestable men are here to stay.

Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of an erratic, dangerous alcoholic World War II veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and struggling to fit into a post-war society is masterful. And, unsurprisingly, Philip Seymour Hoffman kills it as Lancaster Dodd, leader of the philosophical movement The Cause (obviously loosely inspired by L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology). The plot ends up being more about the relationship of these two men than the actual doctrine of The Cause, though, Anderson did a wonderful job creating an eerie aura around the cult without forcing the viewer to focus on its ridiculous claims and practices. The characters are much more important.

I expected The Master to completely blow me away and further prove that perhaps Anderson is the best filmmaker in the industry these days. It has succeeded at both of those, though it did not hit me quite as hard as There Will be Blood. It still is an outright masterpiece, and I do not look forward to having to wait another three to five years for another Paul Thomas Anderson production.