The Master (15)

This Academy Award-worthy unsettling character piece is still in cinemas.

This review was first published in The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk).

The Master (15)

The Master is inspired by the work of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.  Freddie Quell, a disturbed veteran of the Second World War, riddled with all manner of psychological insecurities and sinful perversities, is taken under the wing of Lancaster Dodd, the founder of ‘The Cause’, a thinly veiled representation of Scientology.  Quell becomes his master’s muse, a seemingly incurable pit bull of a man on whom Dodd focuses The Cause’s efforts to help.

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson continues what he started with 2007’s There Will Be Blood, a penetrating inquiry into the dark and disquieting taboo corners of human nature.  Quell seems more wild beast than human being, with his indiscriminate sexual appetite and violent tendencies.  The depth of madness to which actor Joaquin Phoenix goes in portraying Quell is chillingly impressive.

Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an equally enthralling performance as Dodd, whose character is the polar opposite of Quell’s.  Dodd is a model of courtesy and care, an intellectual family man only given to rare outbursts of anger when defending The Cause from outsiders who won’t blindly accept his claims.  It’s a thoughtfully fleshed out and sympathetic performance; it would have been easy to mock or even demonise the character based on Hubbard.

The Cause isn’t shown in an entirely negative light, and the intentions behind it are revealed to be at least partly positive, even with hints of spiritual truth mixed in with the lies.  Dodd talks about restoring the human spirit to its original state of perfection, which has unmistakable echoes of the Garden of Eden and the fall.

The abstract and unsettling score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood amplifies the disturbing tension to near unbearable levels, whilst drawing you into the minds of the characters and setting of the story.  Anderson shows himself once again to be one of the best filmmaking talents working today, and 2013 could be his year to finally snag an Oscar.

The Master isn’t for everyone, and on top of being deeply troubling it makes extensive use of graphic nudity, which whilst being plot and character motivated (thereby not gratuitous), it’s best to be aware of before deciding whether to buy a ticket.

The film is a fascinating and creepy exploration of the human cost of cult, and is a stunning work by a director wrestling with spiritual inklings versus the seemingly unchangeable savage nature of man.