'THE MASTER'

'THE MASTER' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Christopher Evan Welch, Patty McCormack, Kevin J. O'Connor, Jessie Plemmons

Some movies are just extremely well made, fascinating and worthwhile but can just leave you scratching your head. There are also movies like this that are hard to embrace and care for. "The Master" is the new movie by Paul Thomas Anderson who directed "Boogie Nights" which is in my top 5 movies of the 90's. His latest is an actual masterpiece in style but the story and characters will turn some movie goers off.

Filmed in beautiful widescreen 70MM film stock but inexplicably not being able to be shown in small screen Chicago, "The Master" is definitely interesting. It also has two wonderful performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman particularly gives a performance that is pure perfection and one of the greatest performances I have seen any actor ever give! The movie is also breathtaking to look at with flawless art direction, costumes and atmosphere. The story is the part that will confuse some and leave others cold.

I was very intrigued by the story and watching Hoffman is like watching an exercise in pure, pitch perfect acting. It is a performance that should be studied on how to hit the right notes without a trace of falseness or over acting. We first see the lead character Freddie Quell, played by Phoenix, during World War II as the war is ending. We will follow him as he tries to adjust to post war life as a department store photographer. We see him snap in one scene at a customer. The war has either made him an alcoholic, as we see him make his own moonshine with paint thinner, or affected his brain and thinking.

Then Freddie stows away on a yacht in one of the most beautifully shot moments of the movie. There he runs into Lancaster Dodd who is a writer but also fancies himself as a doctor, nuclear physicist and theoretical philosopher. He is patterned after L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, and the movie is inspired by that religion or cult but it doesn't concentrate on any similarity to it. It is more concerned with Freddie and how Dodd will either manipulate him into following him or brainwash him into it. Dodd sees Freddie as an alcoholic and dangerous but feels he can cure him.

This brings me to my pet peeve and why I was fascinated by this story. Freddie is an alcoholic yes but the war has truly scrambled Fredie's brain and the methods that Dodd uses to cure Freddie are strange. Dodd to me is very arrogant because anybody who thinks they can come up with therapy methods that have no sound basis in psychology to cure a mentally unstable man is more dangerous to me than Freddie. Now the methods are wacky to me but they are totally fascinating. I really loved how the movie explored if Dodd's group is considered a cult or just an extended family with a problem child.

I am proud of my extensive knowledge of cults and that is why I was fascinated by the story but I couldn't embrace the movie the whole time. Though the second time I saw the movie ( the movie might require two viewings) I discovered it really has nothing to do with cults even though there are some similarities to a cult. I like that the movie is complicated and makes you think but I needed to identify with some character and I couldn't always do it. It is not a movie that will have you walking out of the theater with a clear head or totally satisfied. There are no easy answers and really no characters you can care about but you will find them fascinating. The movie demands patience and your undivided attention and focus. It is not a feel good movie or a joyous time and it can feel cold a lot of the time.

Though if you want to see a talented director at the top of his skills you will find Paul Thomas Anderson's direction flawless, meticulous and beautifully constructed but also maybe too meticulous. The pacing is solid, the cinematography stunning and the detail flawless. There is also another amazing performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie. It is the more showy role that can come off as too loud and over the top in the wrong hands but Phoenix hits all the right notes. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has the more subtle role and he gives a performance that is flawless. I am partial to Hoffman in this movie because I like quieter performances and roles and Hoffman mesmerized me more than any actor has done in a long time. That doesn't mean Phoenix isn't as great, it is just that Hoffman is pitch perfect. I usually don't do this at such an early time but I can't see any actor giving a better performance this year than Hoffman, he is the man to beat at the Oscars!

"The Master" is fascinating , beautifully shot and made, flawless in its details and production design and powerfully acted. Amy Adams is also great playing against type as Dodd's wife who thinks Freddie is either an alcoholic or mentally dangerous. The movie dances around the ideal of religion, psychology and cults but I found it to be the actual story of a father figure and the son he tries to help but might actually harm more. Will Freddie stay with Dodd or find the courage to discover he can make it on his own. The movie won't tell you and it doesn't end with easy solutions but it is fascinating to watch.

P.S. I thought "The Master" would be my first 4 star review of 2012 (sad). I just couldn't embrace it and fully give my heart to it. Guess I will have to wait for "Argo" or "Silver Linings Playbook" for that elusive 4 star review.