The Master

BBBBB

(out of 5)

Paul Thomas Anderson follows his superb There Will Be Blood with another look at the pulling of wills between two very different men. Joaquin Phoenix survives the horrors of World War II and finds himself unable to readjust to civilian life, taking on an assortment of menial jobs and spending his free time drinking moonshine. After a random walk along a pier leads him onto the boat of a powerful, self-appointed prophet (Philip Seymour Hoffman) with a religious following, Phoenix immediately latches onto this merry crew but spends much of the movie vacillating between devotions. On the one hand, he really does want to absorb Hoffman’s teachings about actively examining yourself towards perfection and the ability to connect with your billions year-old spiritual centre, but on the other his erratic, temperamental personality can’t stop him from acting up and getting into trouble with girls and the law. While the experience here is much thinner than the previous film, with a lead character who doesn’t learn much from his journey and a nemesis whom the director clearly has no admiration for, the execution makes for one of the most perfect films of the director’s career. Every shot is the work of a genius filmmaker with an amazing amount of control and substance, and every character gets deep under your skin. The men at the centre of it are the main focus, with Phoenix doing his most mesmerizing and harrowing work yet, while Hoffman’s one-note delivery and shallow charisma is exploited better than it ever has been before. The women are not to be overlooked, either, with Amy Adams as Hoffman’s wife radiating the conflicts of a young Liv Ullmann in her few key scenes, while Laura Dern brings a memorable level of gravitas to her underused moments. Perhaps the film won’t satisfy all viewers (particularly given that its obvious allegories to Scientology do not reveal much that isn’t already known), but films with no thematic subtlety should all be made this well.

The Weinstein Company, Ghoulardi Film Company, Annapurna Pictures

USA, 2012

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson

Cinematography by Mihai Malaimare Jr.

Produced by Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar

Music by Jonny Greenwood

Production Design by David Crank, Jack Fisk

Costume Design by Mark Bridges

Film Editing by Leslie Jones, Peter McNulty

Film Festivals:  TIFF 2012, Venice 2012

Cast Tags: Abraxas Adams,Ally Johnson, Amanda Caryn Jobbins, Ambyr Childers, Amy Adams,Amy Ferguson, Andrew Koponen, Ariel Felix,Audrey Finer, Baily Hopkins, Barbara Brownell, Barlow Jacobs,Brady Rubin, Brian Fong,Brigitte Hagerman,Brittany Kilcoyne McGregor, Bruce Goodchild, Charley Morgan, Christopher Evan Welch, Dan Anderson, David Warshofsky, Diane Cortejo, Eban Schletter,Emily Gilliam, Emily Jordan, Fiona Dourif,Frank Bettag, Gigi Benson,Hunter Craig, Jay Laurence, Jeffrey W. Jenkins, Jennifer Neala Page, Jesse Plemons, Jill Andre, Jillian Bell, Joaquin Phoenix,John Mark Reyes, Joshua Close, Katie Boland, Kevin Hudnell, Kevin J. O’Connor, Kevin J. Walsh,Kimberly Ables Jindra,Kody Klein, LaRain Ring,Laura Dern, Lena Endre,Leonida A. Bautista, Liz Clare, Lorelai Hoey, Madisen Beaty,Mari Kearney, Martin Dew, Matt Hering, Melora Walters, Mike Howard, Mimi Cozzens,Myrna De Dios, Napoleon Ryan, Olivia Rosemarie Barham, Patrick Wilder,Patty McCormack, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Price Carson,Rami Malek, Rodion Salnikov, Rose Fox, Ryan Curtis, Ryder Craig, Sarah Klaren, Sarah Shoshana David, Scott Rodgers,Theo Crisell, Thomas Knickerbocker, Tina Bruna, Vladimir Velasco,W. Earl Brown, William O’Brien, Zan Overall

Academy Award Nominations
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Joaquin Phoenix as “Freddie Quell”)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Philip Seymour Hoffman as “Lancaster Dodd”)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Amy Adams as “Peggy Dodd”)

Golden Globe Award Nominations
Best Performance By An Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama (Joaquin Phoenix)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Amy Adams)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Philip Seymour Hoffman)

New York Film Critics Award Nominations
Best Film
Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Best Cinematographer (Mihai Malaimare Jr.)

Los Angeles Film Critics Awards
Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams)
Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Best Production Design (Jack Fisk, David Crank)

Nominations
Best Picture
Best Cinematographer (Mihai Malaimare, Jr.)
Best Music (Jonny Greenwood)

National Society of Film Critics Awards
Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams)
Best Cinematography (Mihai Malaimaire Jr.)

Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Best Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Venice Film Festival Awards
Silver Lion
Best Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix)

Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Philip Seymour Hoffman)

Writers Guild Award Nomination
Best Original Screenplay

British Academy Award Nominations
Best Leading Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams)
Best Original Screenplay

Toronto Film Critics Award
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Best Screenplay

Nominations
Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams)

Boston Film Critics Award
Best Cinematography

Nomination
Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)