The Master

I'll admit, I know next to nothing about Scientology. I picture Tom Cruise being overly defensive about it, and hearing stories of women having to interview and sign non-disclosure agreements in order to perhaps become his wife. That said, Paul Thomas Anderson paints the early days of Scientology as bleak and quite odd, but such is the manner of most of PTA's films, regardless of subject matter. "The path" is rigid at times, static at others, and seems like a whole lot of hogwash. It's a "my way or the highway" mentality/cult. And as "The Master's" son in the film said, "He is making it up as he goes along."

Joaquin Phoenix's character Freddy is very tortured, yet we really never know why, although a painful childhood is somewhat revealed through very awkward "sessions" with The Master. Additionally, some very awkward scenes involving old naked women hints to Freddy's possible mental illness.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays Lancaster Dodd, is flawed, yet to his followers, they blindly believe he stays true to his path. To us, the audience, his path changes at will. The strongest character in the film is The Master's wife, played by Amy Adams. She seems to be the only one who inherently follows the path that she has set out for herself. She seems almost made of stone while the rest of the people around her are permeable, flawed, and weak.

The Master is finally called on his flimsiness when a follower, played by Laura Dern, points out that he has changed the entire mentality of their beliefs by changing one important word in his book. This important word calls into question her blind following of this man, and calls into question his own beliefs, which he then defends violently.

The relationship between Joaquin Phoenix's character and The Master is strong yet unbalanced. And all in all, very odd. The Master takes him on as a son and as a project. There were hints of "Good Will Hunting" in the film, only in the strong "I need to fix you" relationship they have for one another.

All in all, PTA has created a work of art. It is a beautifully shot film, but I wish I'd been able to see it on its original 70mm as it is meant to be seen. It is one instagram photograph after the other, but there were far too many instances in the plot where I shifted awkwardly in my seat.

I will give this film this: I want to learn more about Scientology, only because I want to know how true to history this film is. More than one person has told me today to read the Paul Haggis article in the New Yorker about his experience in Scientology. I may update this entry upon reading.