One Down. One
Out: My short review of The Master
This piece is a follow-up of sorts to my post titled “The Next Great Film,” which can be found below the page break. It may contain minor spoilers.
Before
seeing, The Master, which I believed
could have been the next great film, I visited Roger Ebert’s website to see
what he thought. Scared of spoilers, I didn’t read the full review but simply
took note of, and partially dismissed, his 2.5-star rating.
In
recent years, Ebert has taken to giving laughable four-star ratings to movies
such as 2012. So I’ve been skeptical
at best when regarding his opinion. But, despite my undying love for all things
Paul Thomas Anderson and most things Philip Seymour Hoffman, I must admit that
2.5 is just about the right amount of celestial bodies this film contained, as
well as deserved.
Joaquin
Phoenix turns in the best performance of his career as the chemicalcoholic,
sex-starved Freddie Quell, a bizarrely mesmerizing ex-Navy man looking for
honest work and dishonest perks. The film’s opening follows Quell through a
number of disturbing incidents, portraying him as a man who needs to be saved.
Fate
steps in and leads Quell to a boat captained by just such a savior, Hoffman’s
Lancaster Dodd, a caricature of scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, although no
obvious connection is ever established.
The
relationship between the two is both fascinating and troubling. There are a
number of fantastic scenes between them throughout that I won’t ruin by listing
here. As different as can be on the surface, both have obscene levels of rage
boiling underneath their skin, Quell’s stemming from his troubled past and Dodd’s
from the attackers of his movement (see: cult), The Cause. They bond over paint
thinner concoctions, “processing” and Quell’s lack of restraint toward anyone
who doubts Dodd’s words.
It’s
a shame that the two characters are the only parts of the film that live up to
expectations. Amy Adams’ portrayal of Dodd’s wife, Peggy, is satisfactory but
never fully realized. Perhaps the most frustrating element is Jesse Plemons’
role as Dodd’s son, Val, a mind smart enough to doubt his father’s teachings
but evidently scared enough to hang around as a key part of the movement. The
fact that he only receives a handful of lines is a true shame.
As
the film wound on, I thought back on PTA’s other masterpieces, and explosive
possible endings began running through my head. Hard Eight, Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood all treated us to unexpected climaxes that made
them what they were. Even Boogie Nights
gave us Mark Wahlberg’s massive dong without much warning.
Let’s
just say that The Master let me down
in this respect.
None
of this is to say that it is a bad film. It is definitely worth seeing if only
for the fact that it’s the first movie in more than 15 years to be shot in
65mm, something very evident that works beautifully with the mood of the film.
I
simply want to express a warning to anyone expecting it to live up to PTA’s
previous work or anyone searching for the next great film. One down. Lincoln to go.
The Next Great Film
Before
seeing, The Master, which I believed
could have been the next great film, I visited Roger Ebert’s website to see
what he thought. Scared of spoilers, I didn’t read the full review but simply
took note of, and partially dismissed, his 2.5-star rating.
In
recent years, Ebert has taken to giving laughable four-star ratings to movies
such as 2012. So I’ve been skeptical
at best when regarding his opinion. But, despite my undying love for all things
Paul Thomas Anderson and most things Philip Seymour Hoffman, I must admit that
2.5 is just about the right amount of celestial bodies this film contained, as
well as deserved.
Joaquin
Phoenix turns in the best performance of his career as the chemicalcoholic,
sex-starved Freddie Quell, a bizarrely mesmerizing ex-Navy man looking for
honest work and dishonest perks. The film’s opening follows Quell through a
number of disturbing incidents, portraying him as a man who needs to be saved.
Fate
steps in and leads Quell to a boat captained by just such a savior, Hoffman’s
Lancaster Dodd, a caricature of scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, although no
obvious connection is ever established.
The
relationship between the two is both fascinating and troubling. There are a
number of fantastic scenes between them throughout that I won’t ruin by listing
here. As different as can be on the surface, both have obscene levels of rage
boiling underneath their skin, Quell’s stemming from his troubled past and Dodd’s
from the attackers of his movement (see: cult), The Cause. They bond over paint
thinner concoctions, “processing” and Quell’s lack of restraint toward anyone
who doubts Dodd’s words.
It’s
a shame that the two characters are the only parts of the film that live up to
expectations. Amy Adams’ portrayal of Dodd’s wife, Peggy, is satisfactory but
never fully realized. Perhaps the most frustrating element is Jesse Plemons’
role as Dodd’s son, Val, a mind smart enough to doubt his father’s teachings
but evidently scared enough to hang around as a key part of the movement. The
fact that he only receives a handful of lines is a true shame.
As
the film wound on, I thought back on PTA’s other masterpieces, and explosive
possible endings began running through my head. Hard Eight, Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia and There Will Be Blood all treated us to unexpected climaxes that made
them what they were. Even Boogie Nights
gave us Mark Wahlberg’s massive dong without much warning.
Let’s
just say that The Master let me down
in this respect.
None
of this is to say that it is a bad film. It is definitely worth seeing if only
for the fact that it’s the first movie in more than 15 years to be shot in
65mm, something very evident that works beautifully with the mood of the film.
I
simply want to express a warning to anyone expecting it to live up to PTA’s
previous work or anyone searching for the next great film. One down. Lincoln to go.
*************************************************************
The Next Great Film
This is it. It has to be. I just know it.
A legitimately great movie has not been released since 2007,
the year in which No Country For Old Men and
There Will Be Blood both hit the big
screen. But with a number of potential game changers, I am fully confident that
this is the year that streak is broken.
No offense to The Hurt
Locker or Slumdog Millionaire,
two extremely high quality films, or even non-Best Picture winning gems such as
Inception, Frost/Nixon, Up in the Air and
Inglourious Basterds. These are all
movies that I love and deserve all the praise they get. But it’s been five
years since a true masterpiece.
Arriving on the heels of The
Departed, No Country and There Will Be Blood completed a trio of
magnificent films released in a span of less than 15 months and spoiled us all.
We wanted Avatar and The King’s Speech to be good enough to
be mentioned in the same breath, but they weren’t, if we’re being honest with
ourselves.
Since 2008, I’ve been waiting for word to come down the
chain that one of these films is finally it, and this year has the best array
of real candidates for that honor. So here we go...
Django Unchained
Chances of being the
Next Great Film: 20%
Tarantino + Foxx + Waltz + Leo.This movie is going to be awesome. There is no doubt about it. But I wouldn't say it has a very realistic shot at being The Next Great Film. The only one of Tarantino's movies that can really make a claim like that is Pulp Fiction, which was 18 years ago (crazy right?). Django seems to be along much the same path of Basterds; a re-telling of a historical topic with tons of blood, snappy dialogue and great performances. This may be the film I'm looking forward to the most this year, but it doesn't have a great chance at becoming an instant classic.
Zero Dark Thirty
Chances of being the
Next Great Film: 5%
So far we don't know a ton about this movie. Except that it's one of the most badass stories in American history and was directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow. The lack of name actors is worrisome when looking for a real masterpiece but understandable in the sense that no one deserves to overshadow this story. I don't know exactly what to expect in terms of plot formatting, but I hope it's more than important people staring at satellite images.
Seven Psychopaths
Chances of being the
Next Great Film: 8%
One or more Supporting Actor nominations? Sure. Next Great Film? Highly unlikely. You may ask why I'm including movies and then explaining that they have no chance. Well, because I think this film looks fantastic. Directed by Martin McDonagh, who also guided Colin Farrell through In Bruges, a super underrated movie that I suggest anyone who hasn't seen go out and rent this minute, Seven Psychopaths features a handful of the world's greatest character actors in a ransom plot gone awry. Mark my words, this movie will be exhilarating, hilarious and probably have a shocker of an ending. Go see it.
Lincoln
Chances of being the Next Great Film: 35%
You may have noticed that wasn't a trailer, just a depiction of the awesomeness that is Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln. Quick quiz: When was the last time DDL wasn't amazing? If you answered "Never," you win. It just so happens that the last great film was only great basically because of DDL. So here he is to save the day. I can only assume that he has been chopping firewood and re-watching Our American Cousin ever since the milkshake scene wrapped. Spielberg hasn't exactly been pumping out greats lately, but let's not forget that HE'S FREAKING SPIELBERG. Is there even a remote possibility that DDL isn't winning Best Actor?
The Master
Chances of being the
Next Great Film: 45%
Goosebumps. Anyone remember who directed DDL in that last great film? Of course that would be acronym buddy PTA (Paul Thomas Anderson). This will be only the sixth movie PTA has directed in his 16 years of being active in Hollywood. The previous five??? All awesome. It's unheard of to have a feature film greatness track record of 100 percent, but, by golly, he's done it. Jeremy Renner was originally slated to fill Joaquin Phoenix's role, something I was discouraged over until seeing Phoenix in these trailers. Looks like he's the newest star pupil in the PTA Acting Academy (alumni include Mark Wahlberg and Adam Sandler). PTA-favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman is back in a role that was made for him. Still, saying any movie has more than a 50/50 chance at being on the level of No Country and There Will Be Blood is an impossibly high expectation.
But, when we tally all the percentages up, we're in the hunt for The Next Great Film, or, at the very least, a riveting Oscar season. So, for those of you who don't keep up, get on it.
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