Genre: Drama
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymout Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern
Description: Returning from Navy service in World War II, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) drifts through a series of breakdowns. Finally he stumbles upon a cult which engages in exercises to clear emotions and he becomes deeply involved with them.
Review: Freddie Quell is a former marine who has to return to society. He’s an alcoholic, has a temper and is sexually frustrated. He can’t keep a job and it’s all going downhill for him. Then he meets the leader of ‘The Cause’, Lancaster Dodd, who they call ‘The Master’. Dodd takes Freddie under his wing and tries to get him on the right path again.
It’s a very heavy theme, but director Paul Thomas Anderson knows his way around such themes. “The Master” is mostly about the bond between Freddie and Dodd, which give us a lot of confronting conversations between them. That’s the goal of ‘The Cause’, a psychological movement that uses unconventional methods to make people give traumatic experiences a place.
This movie is pretty intense, mostly because of the performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. Both take each other to another level of acting, each with his own style. The Academy Award nomination for both actors is fully deserved. With that I think that the actors were better than the movie itself. We don’t get to know ‘The Cause’ enough to understand them completely and towards the end of the film it’s very repetitive. And because of the slow pace this isn’t a movie for just anyone. But the camerawork and the supporting music is beautiful.
“The Master” has, besides the two phenomenal performances, enough to offer.
Rating: 3,5/ 5
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten