(dir
Paul Thomas Anderson/143 mins)
Rarely
does a film arrive so wet with critical saliva, though like marmite, Paul
Thomas Anderson's The Master is dark, distinctive and divisive. Some will hail
it as genius, some will leave the cinema wishing they'd stayed home and watched
Boogie Nights on DVD. Either way it is sure to provoke a reaction, guaranteed to warrant a response. Personally,
I loved everything about it (although the same sadly cannot be said for
marmite).
Yet,
I can't recommend it. I simply can't. I could never confidently look a friend
in the eye and assure them that this is worth seeing. I couldn't even tell them
what it was about, let alone its genre. There's no `Well, if you liked this
film, you'll be sure to like The Master' analogy to be made here because it
simply defies comparison, eludes classification and is like no other film I've
ever seen because Anderson makes no attempt to befriend his audience. Such a
rebellious approach can be alienating, but it also proves exciting and
rewarding as a viewer, because seldom do directors dare to make origami out of
the rulebook in such a thrilling way. His narrative is fractured and drifting,
as aimless as Freddie Quell (a career best performance from a superbly
contorted Joaquin Phoenix). The ever excellent Philip Seymour Hoffman plays
Lancaster Dodd, the eponymous and charismatic Master; whose subtle, seamless
seduction of Quell and the other members he recruits to his Cause mirrors
Anderson's relationship with us as an audience. Arguably, it is he who is the
true Master here.
I
stumbled out of the cinema feeling much the same way as I do whenever I see a
David Lynch picture - almost dizzy, almost drunk, as if I have just woken from
a troubled sleep, nursing an intense, incurable hangover, unable to quite come
to terms with or make sense of what I've just witnessed, still haunted and
fascinated by my nightmare. The outside world takes time to come back into
focus, slowly bleeding back in as I gradually recover. I'd forgotten all about
the existence of human life, forgotten about roads and pavement and traffic.
This is very much the sign of a good film, if you ask me. I look forward to
revisiting this particular nightmare again on DVD.
Whether
or not you'll feel the same is impossible to say...
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