The Master (2012)

I didn't know anything about this movie before today, other than it was nominated for an Academy award. When I found out that it starred Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, I was not surprised to hear that they both had been nominated for awards. I was also told that it was about a character similar to L. Ron Hubbard. If I hadn't known any of this going in, I would have known coming out. This is one of those movies that doesn't have a hero, but a cast of anti-heroes. The film is called The Master, referring to Hoffman's character, Lancaster Todd, whom is called the Master by his followers. He calls himself a scientist, a writer, a nuclear physicist and theoretical philosopher. It's really his charisma and ideology that people are drawn to, however. I did spend the whole movie what the hell a theoretical philosopher was, since it implies that there are applied philosophers, and I wondered what they do as well. Isn't all philosophy theoretical? Now I know that there are going to be some who are quick to say that isn't Logic, especially Symbolic Logic applied philosophy? I would like to argue that Logicians and Symbolic Logicians especially are more akin to mathematicians and psyhcologists than to philosophers. But this is just really a semantical game (on their part and mine). I suspect that Todd was as much a theoretical philosopher as he was nuclear physicist. For all the importance the Master has to the movie, the film is really about Freddy Quell, played by Phoenix. Quell is the poster child for anti-heroes. He's a liar, a cheat, a thief and a killer. He's a hardcore alcoholic. He's amoral at the best of times. And he's crazy, but not in a good or zany way. Nothing about this movie is zany. Remember Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas? That's what Freddy Quell is like, but a little more unstable.
I spent nearly the whole movie on edge wondering who was going to crack first, Quell, Todd or me. It was none of us, yet in a way it was Quell, but it also was Todd. i stuck it out, so I win.
Todd adores Quell from the beginning and nearly everyone around Todd hates Quell. Quell brins this upon himself, but when other bad things occur when he's around or involved in a group or situation, Quell usually is the one making it worse.
I was happy when the movie was over, not because it's a bad movie, but because the character are so unsettling. I wanted the story to end before the cluster fuck their life was came to a head and truly bad things began to happen. I got my wish. Maybe the bad stuff happening will be the sequel? Just kidding, as this isn't the type of film to generate a sequel.
Joaquin Phoenix is Freddy Quell. He so utterly becomes him, that I didn't once think of him as himself until the credits rolled. I have heard that Phoenix is a method actor, that takes it very seriously and never breaks character (I read this after he was done with Walk the Line), and if that's the case, I wouldn't have wanted to hang out with him while this was filming. Way too intense for me.
This movie was more serious than I usually go in for, and was also more pessimistic, or is that realistic, than I usually go in for as well. But it was so well executed and true to itself, I understand why Phoenix and Hoffman were up for multiple awards and why everyone is talking about this film. It also left me with a desire to look into L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology, not as an option for my life of course, but to see how this movie stacks up with real life. I think when a movie does that, it can only be counted as a success - when you take it with you out of the viewing and wrestle with it in your head.

The Master on IMDb