Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest movie, THE MASTER (MA) is some kind of masterpiece.
Ascending the mantle held by Terence Malick until Malick’s monumental esoteric freefall into profound pretentiousness, Anderson maintains a masterful grip on cinematic narrative, expanding and exploring the impact and influence of nature and nurture on the individual and society.
Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal as Freddie, survivor of U.S. Naval service in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Unfettered from the conflict, unsettled and uncertain in civilian life, Freddie finds employment as a photographer in a department store, but his addiction to alcohol and a volatile temperament soon sees him drifting as an itinerant worker.
His skill as a distiller of hooch, honed as a sailor, scores extra sheckles, but a bad batch of bootleg puts paid to his profiteering and forces him to become a fugitive from his fellow workers.
He inadvertently finds refuge with Lancaster Dodd, charismatic leader of a cult called The Cause, played with characteristic aplomb by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Flashy, flamboyant, Dodd is seen as a seeker and a seer and attracts a flock of followers, many of them female, Amy Adams and Laura Dern among them.
Family, fraternity, faith navigate the thin line between optimism and opportunism.
Shot by Mihai Malaimare in super saturated 65mm that gives it a sublime cinematic verisimilitude of its 1950 setting, the film is art directed by Jack Fisk and David Crank, the production design duo on THERE WILL BE BLOOD, and wardrobed by regular Anderson collaborator Costume designer Mark Bridges who won the Oscar this year for THE ARTIST and who might just take it off again next year.
Scored by Johnny Greenwood (THERE WILL BE BLOOD), THE MASTER cements Paul Thomas Anderson’s place in the pantheon of contemporary American cinema.
© Richard Cotter
7th November, 2012
Tags: Sydney Movie Reviews- THE MASTER, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adam, Laura Dern, Mihai Malaimare, Jack Fisk, David Crank, Mark Bridges, Johnny Greenwood, Sydney Arts Guide, Richard Cotter