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Thursday, October 4, 2012

"The Master" : Fake Knowledge Taming Raw Flesh


In the film world there are hundreds of directors, some of them very proficient and productive, but very few get to attain a style, an auteur signature that makes their films a pure indelible reflection of their vision. A language of their own, a unique reinvention of the medium, creating works that have enduring beauty and substance. Due to the business nature of films, original ideas that are not very commercial might get passed on, as it happened at first with "The Master". After living with the idea for such film for more than a decade, Paul Thomas Anderson has finally brought to life yet another thought-provoking, visually beautiful work of cinematic art. A moving essay on the human need to both, be submitted and guided by a higher power, and to roam free through life reluctant to adhere to societal rules. This humanity he presents is animalistic, brutal and lost in search for a prophetic message that can bring meaning to existence.  As a creative mind and an audacious filmmaker, Anderson fills his characters with flaws, making them his to guide. Using the services of a more than experienced cast, he hypothetically guts these characters, spilling their secrets and skinning them of any veils, raw emotion on screen. Ironically, his story centers on the birth of a cult-like movement that attempts to control such irrational feelings. “The Master” is one of those films rich in symbolisms and timeless human predicaments, aesthetically astonishing and a period piece that rings current. More than attempting to criticize sects like Scientology, it comments on the constant struggle we all live, between what we want and what is proper. It’s a story about change and those who cant change, about innate instincts and religious paradigms that aim to keep humanity from a bestial state. Anderson brings these people to screen to affect our perception of authority and follower, of parent and child, of doctor and patient, of the divine and the mundane. These dichotomies are for some, what keeps civilization afloat, for others is what prevents us from being truly free.
After WWII the men that returned from the battleground were expected to become useful members of society and to live the postwar version of the American dream. They were encouraged to take on a business or buy land, but the emotional scars they brought home were never fully taken into account.  Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is one of these men, lost within him and alcohol just trying to get by. He finds a couple of odd jobs from which his drunkenness gets him fired. Suddenly, he encounters a yacht in which a party is taking place, he sneaks in but instead of being kicked out he is encourage to stay and is welcome by everyone on board. The leader of this group is charismatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who easily recognizes Freddie’s weaknesses and unspokenly takes him under his wing. Lancaster preaches his methods of self-discovery used to “help” members of his group, The Cause, learn about their past lives and control their negative emotions, bringing them back to their “perfect” state. Disturbed but also enchanted by Lancaster’s persuasion, Freddie becomes his most devoted disciple, willing to physically hurt others or himself to defend his master’s teachings.  Nature and Spirit collide between these two men, in essence not being much different from each other, but this duality makes them dependant on each other, a sort of infatuation that completes them. As The Cause advances and it’s faced with disbelief and issues, Lancaster and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) need to separate themselves from Quell’s erratic behavior, leaving the latter lost again and perhaps with more questions than answers. The film is a constant struggle between what the two represent, total opposites that are vital for each other, two different sides of the same coin. As the night gives in to daylight, Lancaster believes he can bring Freddie out of his darkness and free him from his repulsive earthly needs, but as his true nature unravels, the tables turn and its hard to point out which one is indeed the one who seeks guidance. 
Joaquin Phoenix is just stunning and brilliant, dare to say the best performance in his career, the pain transpires through every line, every chuckle, in the childlike eyes he has when he looks at Lancaster, in his selfish and perverted way of life, so devastatingly human. Like a hurricane that has no mercy for anything in its way but who also is only destructive by instinct not with malicious intentions. Quell represents vice and virtue, the amazing quality to be content with nothingness and having no hang-ups or concerns for what is socially acceptable or not. He really cannot be truly tamed, we see him at his best when he is by the ocean, like the current that flows unstoppable, like a raging bull, a pure indomitable beast. Watching him in all his senseless violence is at times liberating and frighting, only to get even more hypnotized when he clashes against Lancaster’s calm and unnaturally controlled demeanor. On the flip side, Mr. Hoffman delivers a performance of messianic magnitude. A prophet and a liar all at once, manipulative but engulfed by sadness. He seems to be sure of his answers, of his way to “process” people to bring their true selves to the surface. His wife seems to have a strong grip on his life, the constant reminder of why he must keep this farce going even if he lost faith in it himself, its too late to back down.  
As separate pieces Phoenix and Hoffman are excellent, but when they are on screen together it’s just a magnetic, indescribable experience. I assure you that when the initial “processing” of Quell happens your eyes will be irremediably attached to the screen, it is a match between one’s fake knowledge trying to tame the other’s raw flesh.  They need each other to keep believing in themselves and in the idea that they can become better. As Peggy mentions, perhaps Quells is “past being helped”, but isn’t God fonder of his more astray and deviant children, because those are the ones that give Him purpose. Anderson has created a masterpiece that should be watched and analyzed for its visual beauty, its masterful acting, and the greatness of its theme. Technically the film is just glorious, the cinematography is captivating and elegant, the era it tries to recreate feels tangible and shiny, vast vistas and intimate conversations all shot with a poetic vision that deserves praise. The music haunting and ideal for such images, like a symphony scoring the absolute battle between good and evil, epic and subtle all at once. From frame one to its closing sequence it is just one of the best films not only of the year but also in decades. A serious contender for everything this upcoming award season, a sure nominee for the Best Picture Oscar, and more than certain for the male acting and directorial categories. 
Needless to say this is a must see, for sure part of my top films of the year and a necessary view for any serious film lover. Paul Thomas Anderson and its cast and crew deserve a standing ovation for such work. If you are not afraid of “The Master” processing your ideas of life and humanity itself, I recommend you go watch it with an open mind and let yourself be guided by this wonderful film. Now out in limited release and expanding. Grade A+


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