The Master is a boldly ambitious picture, if one that’s occasionally difficult to parse. Is it a character study of the two leads, the broken Freddie and dysfunctional Lancaster Dodd? Is it a commentary on the sudden material success and spiritual emptiness of fifties America, in the wake of the Second World War? Is it a study of the phenomenon and psychology of “cult”, with one particular cult in mind? The Master is all these, and probably a great deal more, and its only real flaw is that it never manages to truly fashion these multiple compelling facets into one fully realised whole. Still, that’s a comparatively minor complaint, when dealing with a movie produced with this level of technical craft.
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anderson, Dodd, film, Freddie, Lancaster Dodd, Master, Movie, non-review review, Paul Thomas Anderson, pta, review, the master, the master (2012), there will be blood, United States, world war ii | 5 Comments »