I was pleasantly surprised by this film, many times over. I had heard all the raving reviews, but after There Will Be Blood, I was not sure Paul Thomas Anderson could do any better. He hasn't; There Will Be Blood is his masterpiece by far, and I doubt he can ever make another film so perfectly. The Master is not better than There Will Be Blood, but it does not need to be. It is a film unlike There will Be Blood, and it has an intensity and tenderness all its own. The Master is a film for the patient, those who can appreciate all the quiet moments that make up a film. It greatness and splendor come from its amazing performances, and the impeccable nature of the script and dialogue. It is a film, that at the end, had me satisfied and longing for more all at once, it had me angry and sorrowful. It is not a film that explains itself or answers it own questions, it is for those who dare to have a film challenge them, and it is one of the finest works by a true master, Paul Thomas Anderson.
From the opening scene we are introduced to a character, but given almost no information about him. The beauty of our introduction to Freddie Quell lies within the performance given by Joaquin Phoenix. He is sporadic, quizzical, abnormal, quiet, and walks and looks as though the world is either baffling him, or he has it completely figured out. Over the course of the film I think he bounces back between the two thoughts, or better yet he is wrestling with those two thoughts throughout the film. His performance of Quell goes far beyond a character in turmoil. Quell is a haunted soul. The drinking is not to quiet his mind, but to try and drown his spirit. He is lost, and does things impulsively and without guidance, and pushes his own sense of reality until it explodes in his face. This does not exactly change when he meets Lancaster Dodd, so much as he encounters a force equal to his own, yet severely different. Quell is a raging bull, barely conscious of his own destruction and havoc he causes others; Dodd is the matador, in control of the situation, taming the bull, but the control could be taken at a moment's notice.
Dodd, portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, may be one of the most involved and complex characters to grace the screen in the 21st century. His motives, relationships, family, and beliefs are a mystery, and depending on how you interpret the film, the answers given differ. Some may say he was just a scientist, who become fanatical and was able to talk people into believing his theories. You might say he was completely insane and believed all of the things he spoke on, and truly thought he had everything figured out. I am still not sure how I view him, but I think that is part of the excellence of this film. On some level, I think he was a person who wanted to see how far he could push people. He liked to keep everyone on the edge, and see how long before he could make them step off. Quell, was perhaps the first person he realized, had already stepped off the edge, and was floating in ambivalence. He is also a fearful character. This is what drove his drinking, he was afraid of almost everything. Keeping people at a distance, and commanding over them, convincing them, all helped to mask his fear. He was a man who was afraid of snakes, but could not stop himself from grabbing its tail and seeing how long he could keep from being bit.
This is best exemplified by the scenes with Dodd and his wife, a scary good Amy Adams. She does so much with her time on screen, which on the whole is not a lot compared to her costars, but this only cements her character and performance more deeply. In the scene in the bathroom, we see how much control she has over her husband, and how afraid he is of her. She often speaks for her husband in a way that ends the current conversation. She recognizes the delicate and flimsy nature of the life that they are leading, and she moves all the pieces in the background to keep it from crumbling. "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."- Leonardo da Vinci.
On the whole the thing that made this film so intriguing to me was the dialogue. It is some of the best, intimate, cryptic, and insightful dialogue to be jammed into one film. My favorite example is either Dodd and Quell having their first session together, or when they are in jail together. It matches the feel of the film and the type of characters we are witnessing. Looking back the film would be disjointed if the dialogue was anywhere close to being continuous, but instead its sporadic and varying nature fits the characters like a glove. The movie is also shot from a variety of distances, and on the whole the cinematography is nothing short of excellent. The camera loves to be close, but also distant and sweeping when it needs to be. This is one of those films that prove that not everything in a movie needs to be said, not everything explained, and not every question answered. The second the film ended my mind was whirling with thoughts and emotions, and I loved it. This is a challenging film, but I would expect nothing less when facing a master like P.T. Anderson.
From the opening scene we are introduced to a character, but given almost no information about him. The beauty of our introduction to Freddie Quell lies within the performance given by Joaquin Phoenix. He is sporadic, quizzical, abnormal, quiet, and walks and looks as though the world is either baffling him, or he has it completely figured out. Over the course of the film I think he bounces back between the two thoughts, or better yet he is wrestling with those two thoughts throughout the film. His performance of Quell goes far beyond a character in turmoil. Quell is a haunted soul. The drinking is not to quiet his mind, but to try and drown his spirit. He is lost, and does things impulsively and without guidance, and pushes his own sense of reality until it explodes in his face. This does not exactly change when he meets Lancaster Dodd, so much as he encounters a force equal to his own, yet severely different. Quell is a raging bull, barely conscious of his own destruction and havoc he causes others; Dodd is the matador, in control of the situation, taming the bull, but the control could be taken at a moment's notice.
Dodd, portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, may be one of the most involved and complex characters to grace the screen in the 21st century. His motives, relationships, family, and beliefs are a mystery, and depending on how you interpret the film, the answers given differ. Some may say he was just a scientist, who become fanatical and was able to talk people into believing his theories. You might say he was completely insane and believed all of the things he spoke on, and truly thought he had everything figured out. I am still not sure how I view him, but I think that is part of the excellence of this film. On some level, I think he was a person who wanted to see how far he could push people. He liked to keep everyone on the edge, and see how long before he could make them step off. Quell, was perhaps the first person he realized, had already stepped off the edge, and was floating in ambivalence. He is also a fearful character. This is what drove his drinking, he was afraid of almost everything. Keeping people at a distance, and commanding over them, convincing them, all helped to mask his fear. He was a man who was afraid of snakes, but could not stop himself from grabbing its tail and seeing how long he could keep from being bit.
This is best exemplified by the scenes with Dodd and his wife, a scary good Amy Adams. She does so much with her time on screen, which on the whole is not a lot compared to her costars, but this only cements her character and performance more deeply. In the scene in the bathroom, we see how much control she has over her husband, and how afraid he is of her. She often speaks for her husband in a way that ends the current conversation. She recognizes the delicate and flimsy nature of the life that they are leading, and she moves all the pieces in the background to keep it from crumbling. "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."- Leonardo da Vinci.
On the whole the thing that made this film so intriguing to me was the dialogue. It is some of the best, intimate, cryptic, and insightful dialogue to be jammed into one film. My favorite example is either Dodd and Quell having their first session together, or when they are in jail together. It matches the feel of the film and the type of characters we are witnessing. Looking back the film would be disjointed if the dialogue was anywhere close to being continuous, but instead its sporadic and varying nature fits the characters like a glove. The movie is also shot from a variety of distances, and on the whole the cinematography is nothing short of excellent. The camera loves to be close, but also distant and sweeping when it needs to be. This is one of those films that prove that not everything in a movie needs to be said, not everything explained, and not every question answered. The second the film ended my mind was whirling with thoughts and emotions, and I loved it. This is a challenging film, but I would expect nothing less when facing a master like P.T. Anderson.
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