I have to confess that I don’t know very much about Scientology.  I know Tom Cruise practices it, as do a handful of other high profile celebrities.  Without them, we might not have ever heard of it.  I know it’s a religion founded by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.  I know they own a crazy amount of high-end Hollywood real estate.  I know you can’t walk down Hollywood Boulevard without having somebody ask you if you want to take a stress test.  And, I know that a lot of people look on Scientology as an organization with sinister motives or intents.

People going into Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, The Master, expecting a bare knuckles, blow-the-lid-off smackdown of Scientology are going to walk away disappointed.  The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd, a self-proclaimed man of science who in the early ’50s started his own movement called The Cause.  It’s clear that Dodd and The Cause are inspired by Hubbard and Scientology.  But, it’s also clear that Anderson’s aim isn’t to make an expose on the Church of Scientology or use Hubbard as a whipping boy.

In fact, Lancaster Dodd isn’t even the film’s main character.  That would be Freddie Quell, who’s played by Joaquin Phoenix in his first role back after his side career as a hoax rapper.  Freddie is a World War II vet who, as the film opens, is being treated for a nervous condition brought on by what we would call post-traumatic stress disorder today.  Freddie is a bundle of coiled rage and pent-up sexual frustration that can snap into bursts of violence at the drop of a hat.  Unable to hold a job, Freddie’s problems are multiplied by having a raging drinking problem.  Freddie will quite literally drink anything (paint thinner, Lysol) if there’s alcohol in it.

One night, a drunken Freddie stumbles onto a ship about to leave port.  That ship includes Lancaster Dodd’s family (his daughter is going to be married at sea) and a slew of Dodd’s followers.  Dodd decides to take Freddie under his wing and use the self-help principles of The Cause to assist Freddie.  

Also onboard is Dodd’s wife Peggy, played by Amy Adams.  Peggy has certain Lady Macbeth tendencies, and it’s often implied that she may be the real master controlling Dodd.  Adams can do America’s Sweetheart in her sleep, but I love it when she goes against type and plays cold and flinty like this.  

It’s obvious fairly early on that Dodd may be a fraud, but at the same time he seems to genuinely believe in what he’s selling.  Dodd’s son Val (played by Jesse Plemons of Friday Night Lights) even tells Freddie at one point, “He’s making all this up as he goes along.  Can’t you see that?”  There’s a great scene where Dodd explodes at one of his minions who notices contradictions in his new book that vary from the teachings of his old book.  You can almost hear Mitt Romney’s campaign manager say they won’t be swayed by fact checkers.

The Master is a great, big meatball sandwich for the brain.  It brings up many big ideas and questions, and I loved its ambiguity in terms of not always answering them.  Maybe The Cause is complete horses—, but while never definitively curing him, we do see it have a calming effect on Freddie, who is barely controlled when the movie starts.  Shouldn’t that apply to all religions, that if people find comfort in them, does it matter how ridiculous they may seem to outsiders?  

I think The Master is going to be one of those films that improves on subsequent screenings.  I just saw it this morning, and I think it will get better for me the more I’m able to think about it.

If the film has a weak link, it’s that I didn’t really care about what happened to anybody on an emotional level.  I outright reject the idea that lead characters need to be likeable.  I’ve been watching Breaking Bad for five years and even though Walter White has become a borderline evil man, I still find him oddly compelling.  But, I thought the characters caught in Lancaster Dodd’s orbit were intellectually stimulating without really caring about generating any genuine pathos.  

Joaquin Phoenix makes a blistering return to the screen here.  Freddie Quell is an animal, and Phoenix gives a performance of complete physicality.  I’m not much of an Oscar fan or prognosticator, but there’s no question Phoenix will be a major awards contender.

Ditto for Hoffman, a long-time Anderson repertory member. (My favorite of their collaborations?  Hoffman as the Utah mattress king in Punch Drunk Love.)  When the two male leads are on screen, it’s pretty electric.

Tech contributions are first class across the board.  I think special credit needs to be given to the production design team.  This is a film set in the early 1950s that feels completely authentic.  See it projected in 70mm, if you can.

I think another shout-out needs to be given to Megan Ellison, one of the film’s producers.  The daughter of a billionaire, Megan Ellison has been helping to finance films the studios were not super keen on making.  Her first film was the Coen’s True Grit, and she helped finance The Master after Universal put it in turnaround.   She’s also financing Anderson’s next film, an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel Inherent Vice.  Good on her for using her powers for good.