The Master (2012) | Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Intro and Technical Details
I try to figure out why I gravitate to certain films. Most of the time, it’s after someone asks me what my favorites are. I tell them, and then 90% of the time they don’t understand why I like those particular films. I’ve asked myself if it’s just some kind of wanna-be elitist, cinephile phoniness or something...but that’s not it. The reason I love films like The Master is due to their elusiveness. The Master shows you an approximate direction, but doesn’t overtly tell you what the answer is. In my eyes, this places it in a special category of cinema which is mysterious and often transcendent. It has something profound to say about us as humans and morphs with each viewing. It is alive because it doesn’t spoon-feed you an agenda or proposed concrete “truth” or “moral lesson”. My goal in this post is to take what I know and implement my personal thoughts and film knowledge to try to gain a better understanding of what this film is. This is my third post analyzing a film of my choosing. The first was about two women (Persona), the second was about a man and a woman (Cold War) and The Master is about two men. When people ask me what my favorite movie is, I tell them The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson. This is also PTA’s favorite film of his own. I remember the first time I watched it was at the NoHo Laemlle Theater a couple of blocks from where I live, right off of Magnolia, which happens to be the title of the first Paul Thomas Anderson film I ever watched. But while watching The Master that day in the theater, I remember feeling lost and dumb. I knew A LOT was happening but I didn’t know what. It left me behind. As a short filmmaker, when I first started (around the time The Master came out) I would just have stuff in my films (images, sounds, lines, etc) that were superfluous and didn’t have any legitimate reason for existing. My intentions were good...I was trying to create an atmosphere, even though a lot of the attempted atmosphere didn’t connect to the story or the idea being examined. I think it’s because a lot of the movies I was watching during that time I didn’t understand. I didn’t know why the director was making the detailed choices he or she was making. I still don’t always know the reason, but I do have a better idea. I must’ve thought these choices were just there spontaneously or by accident...for style-sake maybe! I was just going along the ride without consciously considering the nuanced decisions the director or actors were making. And oddly enough, this particular film is about a cult called “The Cause” and every cult’s main philosophy-based objective (in some odd form or fashion) seems to be to awaken your consciousness to yourself and/or to reality. If one is a film lover, and is so inclined to dig into this film, I believe one must watch consciously to understand it and not just go on the ride. And at first glance, one might make the mistake of thinking there is no rhyme or reason for certain moments, but Anderson is a filmmaker that does a vast amount of research and is very aware of what he’s packing in there. A literary example (which is much more elusive) is Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce. Many believe Joyce was just goofing around with words, but if you read Joseph Campbell’s Skeleton Key or do some independent research on each phrase and term (if you have 10 years), one will realize there is meaning within the puns and riddles and melding-words. Finnegan’s Wake is a circular book and I believe The Master is a circular film. Finnegan begins again and I believe Freddie begins again. Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and I love the first two sentences of his review: “Paul Thomas Anderson’s "The Master" is fabulously well-acted and crafted, but when I reach for it, my hand closes on air. It has rich material and isn't clear what it thinks about it.” Of course, I disagree mostly. I agree that the material is rich, but I think it’s clear what it thinks about itself more than Ebert thinks...and I’ll elaborate on this opinion throughout this detailed post. The next sentence in the review (after the quote above) is about how the Dodd character is based on L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, but how in the film there is no clear vision of what the cult is or what it becomes. I believe we see quite a bit of what it is and we see that it has expanded to England by the end of the film. The film never lays out the exact tenets of the cult in list form, but Dodd himself is making it up as he goes along and this is expressed multiple times in the film. I also believe enough is revealed to get a fairly good idea of the cult’s philosophy and the methods being used for “curing”. Also, in my opinion, I don’t think understanding “The Cause” is entirely relevant to what the film is trying to say. The film is mainly about the symbiotic relationship of the two main characters, Freddie and Lancaster. I rewatched There Will be Blood last night (Anderson’s film before The Master) and the thought came to me that you have to watch the expressions of the characters closely during these films and follow what’s happening inside of them. This seems so obvious to point out, and could definitely apply to any film-watching experience, but the acting in Anderson’s films is so strong and subtle one will be lost unless you watch the silent moments and what the faces show you. I'm really trying to pick the right words to express this...but you have to consciously tell yourself while watching (in your thoughts) what’s happening with these complex characters if you want to understand the transitions. I don’t think the camera movements are as important in The Master nor the lighting, but it’s the characters’ internal life expressed in their faces manifesting from their psychological states, needs and wants. Of course, Freddie’s gait is a big part of his character and various body language from the all the characters are important, but their faces tell you most of the story. Also, I believe some knowledge of Spiritualism is needed to bring to the table, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to understand what the film is trying to say. But anyway, perhaps I’m over-explaining too soon. I was trying to figure out how movies like this get away from people (including me) and cause so much confusion. The last time I saw the film was about 6 months ago at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood where the premiere was in 2012. The screening I saw may have been the same 70mm print from the premiere, but I could be wrong. I just tend to think there’s not too many 70mm copies out there. The Master was the first fiction film in 16 years to be shot in 65mm and then 5mm is added for the audio track. I didn’t know for a long time the reason why such a big film stock made a difference, but apparently it’s because more information can fit on each frame, therefore it’s crisper and more details can be seen...which makes it epic and ambitious and a filmmaker is really swinging for the fences if they use this big stock! Anyway, there was quite a large crowd at the Egyptian and I remember laughing at a few spots where no one else was and kinda had to pull myself back. I also remember noticing a lot of things I hadn’t noticed before and I’m sure this will be the case when I rewatch it again for this post. Before getting into the film, I'd also like to mention I will probably come off as a bit of a fan boy in this excerpt. It is because I believe Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the best filmmakers in the world of the past 25 years and has much to teach in a field that I’m passionate about. Also, I believe The Master is a master-piece and there are new interpretations of depth and reference that I am still uncovering (or think I’m uncovering).
Freddie Quell, Navy Man at Sea
The opening shot is of aqua blue water behind the back of a ship, which is also the dominant color in the palette of the film and the color I think of when I think about the film. Johnny Greenwood’s score crashes in and then we see the first shot of Freddie Quell in a bunker with a military helmet on. I can’t remember where I read it but Paul Thomas Anderson told Joaquin Phoenix to mimic the monkey in the hot spring from the documentary Baraka for this shot, which also coincidentally was filmed in 65mm. I’m sure it's partly a nod to the film’s use of the same stock size, but I also think it's covertly setting us up for Freddie’s animal-like nature...or pointing to the animal-like nature of war and how this particular primate, Freddie, is expected to change his entire behavior, which is attempted by Lancaster Dodd throughout the film. Simplistically put, Freddie indulges in his animal nature. Dodd denies it. A dichotomy that will also act as a magnet between the two throughout the film and something that I will point out several times. Also, we wonder if war broke Freddie or was Freddie already broken? Or is he actually “broken” at all??
We immediately see that Freddie drinks heavily and how he is markedly different from the other soldiers in the group. He takes things too far and is much cruder than the others. He drunkenly simulates sex with the nude sand woman the guys have made and then masterbates into the ocean. He then lays down and closes his eyes next to the sand sculpture bosom, almost oedipal-like, sweetly spooning its side. This exact same image will pop up again and I believe it holds a large significance in the key to understanding the film.
It is next revealed Freddie can make booze out of pretty much anything as he drains what looks to be the ship’s missile fuel into a cup. This also seems to be Freddie’s way of making friends with the other troops, as it is simultaneously announced that World War II is over. The camera scans the room and shows all the interesting yet shell-shocked faces of the troops as it’s explained to them by their superior they are now able to enter the world. They are told they can now open up their own businesses with the skills they’ve acquired. This doesn’t come off so much as anti-war, but obviously points out that a lot of these men are damaged psychologically, and the military either comes off as naive or willfully ignorant regarding the mental state of the guys entering the world post-service. This is magnified by a comical scene of Freddie sitting in a room with a hardened military psychologist who shows him rorschach blots as Freddie interprets every single one as extremely sexual. Phoenix is amazing in these closeups and the camera is able to hold on him for long periods of time. This was after his fake retirement from acting and I think he was hungry for this film. His face is gnarled with lines. He has this mumble that’s slightly distracting but makes you lean in as he moves in and out of the camera’s shallow depth of focus. This film has so many closeups and doesn’t include the long steadi-cam and dolly shots like in Boogie Nights or There Will be Blood. The comical scene is followed by a sad scene showing us that Freddie has some real psychological pain. He talks little and very uncomfortably to another military psychologist about his family and an old sweetheart. Freddie mumbles, “you can’t help me” and later sarcastically says, “thanks for the help”. Later on we wonder if Dodd gives him real help opposed to these psychologists.
Freddie Enters the World
Freddie has a job as a photographer in a department store. The portraits look lovely. The song underneath during this scene is perfect (”Get thee Behind Me, Satan” by Ella Fitzgerald).
Freddie flirts with a woman that models clothes for customers. He later then mixes some of his potion in a photo-chemical room like an Alchemist. They both drink from the flask and then kiss. She shows him her breasts. Freddie asks her to go out that night, which cuts to Freddie passed out drunk at the restaurant table and the woman annoyed.
The next day Freddie is hung over at work and gets into a fight with a large male photo client. Freddie comically runs from the man and throws various items at him while dodging and weaving behind columns. The camera covers the commotion in wide shot in the department store so well! Then Freddie does something peculiar and funny by grabbing the hand of the model (his date from the night before) like he’s leaving the job and she’s coming with him. She looks at him baffled as they hurry out. Music comes in perfectly here (once again) with a jagged discontinuity of woodwinds which takes us to Freddie now working in a lettuce field in Salinas, California. The shift to this new, vastly different environment is dreamlike. Freddie continues to make booze and gives some to an older man that Freddie says looks like his father. The man gets ungodly drunk and Freddie is run out of the work group after being accused of poisoning the man, which leads to one of my favorite shots of the film. It is a long tracking shot of Freddie running through a foggy field away from the workers chasing him. I liked it so much I tried to slightly copy it while shooting a silly annual family short film in a cotton field in Texas, also running away from farmers. And worth mentioning (assuming my short film is worth mentioning), I remember reading somewhere that Paul Thomas Anderson read about the life of John Steinbeck (from Salinas, CA) and incorporated some of the stories in The Master.
The Master (2012) Paul Thomas Anderson (Panavision 65mm)
The Jackel (2016) Cory Aycock (Canon 7D Crop Sensor)
Freddie Meets “The Cause”
Next, it cuts directly to Freddie walking on a dock, looking cold and dejected. In the distance is a boat docked with a lively party and warm lighting. Music plays and we get our first glimpse of Lancaster Dodd. He dances charismatically with his wife in the middle of an admiring group as Freddie, the misfit loner, decides to sneak onto the boat. The boat is then shown setting out to sea, which looks to be departing from San Francisco under the Bay Bridge.
The next morning, Freddie is hungover and has a humorous conversation with Lancaster, the leader of “The Cause”. Such a great opening scene with these two and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is so great in this role. I think it’s his best performance...but I’m biased. As mentioned, the conversation is humorous, but not funny-haha. Again, I will try to explain as best I can what I feel when watching some of these scenes... They talk in such a way, not necessarily about funny stuff, but they are such characters and there’s such chemistry it puts a smile on your face. You see the inner-game they are both playing and it’s delightful to watch. They are opposites, which creates this lively synthesis and makes you laugh sometimes, but also gives you such a large mindscape to enter during these rich, concentrated dialogue sessions. In this first conversation, Lancaster and Freddie both mention that the other seems familiar, which comes back later. Their association is sweet yet ridiculous at times. A likable naivety exists, but also a sense of intrigue and darkness lies underneath. Dodd tells Freddie, “I am a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher...but above all I am a man...A hopelessly inquisitive man, just like you.” And shortly after calls Freddie a scoundrel, but asks him to make more of his secret booze. A young Rami Malek, Clark, pops up next in the film and is marrying Lancaster’s daughter, Elizabeth. The first interaction we see between Hoffman and Malek feels like a Tom Cruise-like stareoff. Malek stares until Hoffman ducks his head in slight awkwardness. This trivial detail always catches my attention and I’m not sure why. Lancaster gives a speech after the ceremony in triangular blocking. This is my favorite speech of Dodd’s in the film. He is at his most charismatic and funny here, in my opinion, and touches on some of the philosophies of “The Cause” in symbolic terms. He talks about lassoing a dragon and then teaching it stay, then roll over and play dead. I’m almost positive this serves as a metaphor for taming the ego and/or reactionary mind, then learning how to navigate life playfully following this “enlightenment”. Freddie shifts in his drunkeness from confusion to laughter while continuing to compulsively drink all the alcohol in sight counter to the simultaneous speech.
Although, Lancaster loves Freddie’s booze and, again, secretly asks for some after the speech. Freddie’s process of procuring this solution is somewhat like a mad alchemist and shown multiple times in the film. To me, this could metaphorically point to some type of alchemy forming between the two opposite characters considering the psychological and metaphysical tone of the film. It is also revealed the next morning by Amy Adams’ character, Peggy (Dodd’s wife), that Freddie inspires something in Dodd and he has been writing much more since Freddie showed up. Peggy has asked Freddie to sit with her at breakfast, possibly to see what it is about him that could possibly spark this insight in her husband. Despite this, I don’t think Peggy sees anything special in Freddie and doesn’t understand their relationship for the remainder of the film. Actually no one, besides maybe Elizabeth, sees anything worthy in Freddie at all other than Dodd. I believe this is because Freddie fills a unique gap within Dodd. I will expand on this more later, but to me it’s obvious Freddie is filling the gap of the id. Freddie is a scoundrel, an open drunk, a philanderer and a wanderer. These are things Dodd isn’t. He forbids himself of being this and Freddie is counter to this persona of Dodd’s, who is a leader, married and always ON. He is relied upon by his followers, always maintaining his status as prophet for the cult...perhaps the superego. Soon it is revealed there are “processing” sessions occurring on the ship, recording “past lives”. Everything is being put on tape of what people are saying during these sessions. Freddie humorously navigates the ship during all of this. At one point he sits at a table and puts on some headphones and it’s Lancaster’s voice deliberately stating, “We are not animals.” “We are not a part of the animal kingdom.” Simultaneously, Freddie looks across the table at a young woman and passes her a dirty sexual note. She goes back to work as Freddie watches her. The sun behind him shines through the window and perfectly peaks behind Freddie’s head. This is what I meant at the beginning of the post...the film is showing you something regarding the ideas it is trying to express. In this moment it’s not necessarily just in the face of the character, but in what Dodd says in the headphones in direct opposition to Freddie’s sexual note and then the sun winking at us from behind. For some reason, it makes me cringe to analyze some of these moments... demystifying and deflating the “magic” of these details.
The distinction of “animal” pops up periodically a few more times in the film on the account of Dodd. Again, Freddie (the animal) and Lancaster (the divine) forming a fully whole being. Now, at the 36 minute mark, the best scene between two actors sitting across from each other at a table I’ve ever seen. It reminds me a bit of the scene in Persona where the two women sit across the table from one another when they meld. They also repeat the dialogue here like in Persona and Dodd dresses down Freddie similar to Alma’s dressing down of Elisabet. The face lighting in this scene is also similar, half-lighting the characters but in a dark Charlie Rose-like room directly counter to the white background in Persona. The scene begins by Freddie being processed after a drink with Lancaster. Lancaster asks him probing questions about his life and records it. The scene is funny, dark, raw and nuanced. I can’t say enough about this scene, there is so much here. Phoenix moves and looks around. Hoffman stays still, centered, not breaking eye contact. The first time around, Freddie doesn’t take it seriously and farts in the middle of them talking. Lancaster playfully calls him a “silly animal” and ends the processing session soon after by turning off the recorder. Freddie seems disappointed and wants to do it again. Lancaster sets up the rules this time and tells him he is not allowed to blink during the questioning. Freddie agrees. In somewhat Mesiner-like fashion they continue the exercise in a long closeup on Freddie. Phoenix is amazing here and at one points slaps his face multiple times after he blinks. They start over. Tears roll down his face. Apparently Freddie is severely troubled by his family past and recalls a sexual relationship he had with his Aunt. Then he reveals he was in love with a girl in his hometown named Dorris. It beautifully cuts from the black, heavy room to a bright sunny day and the white house where Dorris lives with colorful flowers in front. This is a beautiful contrasting cut by Anderson transporting us. Also, worth pointing out, is the contrast of how silly the scene started with farts and laughter, then taking us to this this deep, heavy pain within Freddie.
This is a unifying scene for Freddie and Lancaster. And despite what we think about the legitimacy of the cult, some type of deep psychological progress with Freddie is being made here...a progress that was not even close to being accomplished with the military psychologists. Or is this “progress”? Feels like it. As Freddie comes back from the flashback, it cuts to the aqua blue water again, similar to the opening shot of the film, perhaps personifying Freddie’s current mental state. The color of Freddie’s shirt also matches the color of the water.
Again, there is a charming naivety within Lancaster regarding “The Cause” during his far-fetched final questioning lightening the mood before the two have a drink and smoke a Kool together.
Funny outtakes at the end of the scene.
Obviously, Dodd is modeled after L. Ron Hubbard, but I don’t think it's a nasty rebuke or hit piece, nor is it an exact replica. I read Anderson and Tom Cruise remained friends after Anderson showed it to him. If one thinks it’s mainly a film about Scientology then they are absolutely wrong. It’s evident Anderson loves these characters in spite of all their flaws and complications. Dodd remains a believer of his own philosophy throughout the film, which I think keeps him likable. You also believe throughout he wants to help Freddie, even though some of that motivation may be ego-based or material for his writing. He is misguided at times but cannot be broadly painted good or bad and does not come off as maliciously pumping out nonsense solely for monetary gain. You believe he believes.
Sea-Legs to Landlocked
The ship now arrives at New York City and the group attends a fancy party at a home. You get the feeling this new spiritual movement is in vogue. Freddie goes straight for the booze and also begins stealing random stuff around the house. Lancaster schmoozes, then is shown performing a processing exercise for a woman laying on the couch for the party crowd. This last time watching, I got the feeling Dodd was curious what she would say and that every session he conducts he secretly sees as an experiment, collecting more data for himself rather than having a fully realized philosophy or completed methodology.
I’ve read Dianetics, so I do believe I have more insight into what’s going on in some of these scenes than a regular viewer. Although, I also believe the information is already there in the scenes if one pays close enough attention. And I’ll say it again, “The Cause” is not a carbon copy of Scientology. But, to generalize, the quest of both seems to be the same...to reach a state of “perfect” (or “clear”) by cutting through past traumatic memories and lifetimes (when the “analytic mind” was unconscious) in order to tame the current reactive mind. After processing, the woman on the couch talks about her past life and Dodd answers some of her questions. Then, a naysayer from the party verbally challenges the legitimacy of Dodd’s claims. "The Cause” is no longer confined to the vacuum chamber that is their boat. Dodd raises his voice in anger and Peggy looks visibly rattled as well. Lancaster eventually loses his cool after the naysayer continues to not back down and calls him a “Pigfuck”, which makes me laugh every time. This is the first time we see Dodd lose his composure in the film. Freddie is observing off to the side and throws a tomato at the guy, probably something Dodd wishes he could do. The party guest is obviously convinced there is no way to have a logical discussion regarding “The Cause” with Dodd and he’s right.
A quick aside and personal story...the actor playing the Party Guest Naysayer is named Christopher Evan Welch. I briefly worked backstage at the Mark Taper Forum in Downtown Los Angeles and Christopher was one of the actors in a play when I was working there. During one of the shows, while waiting for his time to go back on stage, he sat with me for a while and asked me questions about what I wanted to do in the business and where I was from, etc. I was still pretty green. I remembered him being very nice and authentic. This must have been around the time he worked on The Master because it was in early 2012. The next year I found out that he died suddenly of Cancer. Hoffman died not too long after. Very sad. The full scene is below with Welch and Hoffman:
Dodd and Peggy are upset now in their room after this fiasco. Dodd writes furiously as Peggy speaks, putting words to their anger, completely flabbergasted by this mild rebuke. The whole group is bent out of shape, shaken by this challenge. Freddie, next door, elects to take Rami Malek’s character (Clark) to the naysayer’s room to rough him up and they do (or Freddie does).
The next day Dodd pretends to scold Freddie, but it’s obvious he’s glad he did it. Again, Freddie being the id that is unrestrained and not held down by social convention in direct opposition to Dodd’s persona. This is where something similar comes in comparable to Scientology, because Scientologists are known to go after naysayers, sometimes aggressively. The group nows arrives at a large house in Philadelphia belonging to Laura Dern’s character, Helen. Everyone gets out of the car like a big happy family visiting relatives and you really feel the warmth of their community here. Different courses and talks are being held at the home. Dodd’s daughter, Elizabeth, makes a move on Freddie during one of the talks and Freddie resists. She is a redhead just like his past sweetheart Dorris. In the previous scene, Freddie was ready to go find the naysayer and Clark seemed apprehensive until Elizabeth gave him a look to go. She seems to like Freddie’s aggression. Plus, perhaps, her father’s closeness with Freddie has something to do with this attraction. There are moments when Freddie’s face, with all it’s interesting lines, drifts to another place and the sound completely fades as Anderson holds the shot on Phoenix in closeup. Anderson does tons of planning and research, but you get the feeling on the day during filming he’s constantly looking to catch moments of spontaneity and it seems this choice to hold on Phoenix during this particular moment is a good example.
Freddie continues to get completely wasted alone amongst the others, shown during a party as Lancaster sings and holds court. The scene afterwards always makes me laugh really hard (no pun intended) when Peggy jerks Lancaster off in the sink while making him agree not to drink anymore of Freddie’s booze. She continues to jerk and tells Lancaster if he’s going to cheat on her to not let her or anyone else she knows find out. Lancaster eventually comes and doubles over as he lets out a few violent pleasurable yelps. This is the closest to the animal side we see of Dodd, and this spirited release may point to the pressure build-up. Peggy then walks into the dark room where Freddie is passed out and tells him there will be no more boozing. He reluctantly agrees upon waking. Yet the next scene (the next day) shows Freddie continuing to drink heavily on the sneak. The Philadelphia Police show up at the house suddenly to arrest Dodd for running a medical school without a license. Dodd gives himself up relatively calmly and in contrast Freddie fights wildly with several police who violently wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him. Then there is a wonderful scene following, setting up the two protagonists’ contrast in temperament even more when Freddie is hauled in and put in the cell next to Dodd. Dodd is cooly standing still and calmly leaning on his bunk. Freddie is abruptly being dragged in by four officers, and immediately starts DESTROYING his cell as Dodd just observes. Dodd possibly feels this rage inside but has elected to consciously watch his rage rather than react as Freddie is. Then the two get in a hilarious, childish yelling match after Dodd tries to explain to Freddie why he is how he is. He tells Freddie the cause of his affliction is due to an implant from millions of years ago and that he is asleep (lining up with Scientology). Freddie isn’t having it and says he’s just making it all up as he goes along, echoing what Dodd’s son said to Freddie on the porch right before the police showed. Dodd yells back that no one likes Freddie except for him. Both of the characters have told each other a truth. Dodd then says he’s done with him and begins peeing in his cell toilet. Yet Freddie has no pot to piss in because he’s destroyed his cell, including his toilet. In fact, he may have also destroyed his relationship with Dodd, which would likely mean he will not have a pot to piss in for quite some time.
During a quick arraignment scene with Dodd, the Judge orders him to repay the $11,000 he took and gives him this look that has so much character and makes me smile every time. He cuts his eyes up in this humorously scolding way as he simultaneously hits the gavel. With these great films and directors and actors, you learn that even the smallest scene is packed with so much richness and detail and not wasted!
Dodd is now at the dinner table with his family. Freddie is still in jail. The family open up to Dodd voicing their concerns regarding Freddie. They want him gone. Dodd says they must try and help Freddie get well, perhaps Dodd trying to find a way to keep him around. Now a wide shot outside of the Philadelphia house. Dodd is sitting up on the porch with several others and there is a little girl on a tricycle in the foreground below the steps. Freddie sheepishly approaches the house after being let out of jail like the prodigal son. Dodd cooly embraces him. The little girl runs up the steps into the house. The two men then start wrestling like little boys in the yard, the two halves reconciled, laughing hysterically.
Freddie Quell, Patient of The Cause
Freddie is now being “treated” and/or administered tests in front of about 30 people in the house to “cure” him. Dodd tells him to go from one end of the room to the other, to feel the wood wall and describe it, then walk over to the glass window, feel it and describe it too. He continues this over and over.
Paul Thomas Anderson is a filmmaker that walks in front of you and you have to catch up. He does this by overloading your mind with scenes that just start and don’t have a lead-up. You have to wait, then you find out. The strength of the music, cinematography and acting lays so much subtext in front of you, it can keep you from following what’s actually happening...which, oddly, I feel is part of what great cinema is. It’s a great distraction...a created atmosphere so thick that one can be swept away by it if they don’t watch out. For example, the first time I watched this film I thought I had an idea what was happening, then I realized I was wrong, but I had already overthought in the wrong direction so far I became completely lost and just sat there asking myself even more wrong questions in my head about what was going on until the credits rolled. I did the same thing in the same theater with Inherent Vice a few years later. In the next scene there is another exercise where Freddie sits across from Clark and is not to react to anything he says, including personal insults. He cannot react in any way (laugh or talk, etc) or Dodd will start over the exercise. This reminds me of the Synanon Cult and their ”Attack Therapy”. The cult used to be located in Santa Monica where the hotel Casa Del Mar is now and I’m sure Anderson had heard of them growing up in LA. Clark immediately says “Dorris” and Freddie breaks right away, looking to Dodd knowing Dodd told Clark to say this. Dodd replies, “Fail” and they have to start over. In my opinion (and I think I’m right) Dodd wants Freddie to get to a point of non-reactivity, possibly closer to a state of “clear”. All the individual’s insecurities are placed in the forefront consciousness (also why they record everything) and then the individual has to face these thoughts head-on until the past is dealt with and the former traumatic memories no longer abscond the self, opening the individual to infinity. The individual must face the shadow in other words, becoming whole by “mastering it”...taming the reactive mind or “dragon” as mentioned in Dodd’s speech at the wedding. Once the dragon is tamed then one can teach it to “roll over and play dead”. Am I being indoctrinated too??
Next, Peggy reads Freddie sexually explicit passages from a book in a Demme-like closeup and Freddie is not supposed to react or say anything. Dodd excludes Freddie from eating lunch with the group and makes him stay inside the house continuing the exercises where he continually has to walk back and forth and feel the wood wall and window over and over again. Freddie is at a point now where he names the wall and window random things like “moss”, “rocks” and “barbed wire” as he touches them. My guess is this is an exercise to break down his sense of language....or just break down his mind, because it’s obvious to Dodd he needs to be broken down. I also think Dodd is using this as an experiment for his methods to see what “works”. He watches from outside as Freddie, alone, continues to walk back and forth. The camera pushes in on Dodd and his expression is one of curiosity as well as remorse, yet still barks out orders, “Back again!”.
Shortly after, he explains to Freddie that it is a slow, hard process and Freddie looks mentally exhausted. But, eventually, Freddie starts making progress and is becoming stronger. Is it really working? Rami Malek (Clark) is so monotone and annoying here, it really shows Freddie has to be strong to take his insults during the exercises. Peggy even shows compassion for Freddie at one point, one of his biggest naysayers throughout the film. To shift to something technical for a second, I love how the flicker of the film looks in these closeups on Joaquin Phoenix! You can really notice it in the 4K Version. I also remember being very aware it was shot on film while watching the 70mm version at the Egyptian. I know it’s very cool to like film, but I really do authentically enjoy the look of it.
Freddie now does the wall/window exercise with manic energy. There is one moment when Joaquin Phoenix is jumping up and down and almost hits his head on the chandelier’s metal point...and it looks as though Hoffman gets out of character for a sec to block Phoenix’s head that narrowly misses it. Freddie is back feeling the wall like he has hundreds of times, then goes over to the glass again, feels it and deeply says he can touch the neighbor’s plants...the stars...anything he wants... This is not a big moment magnified by a music cue or closeup, but Dodd says enthusiastically “End of application!” Freddie has succeeded in completing the exercise. Perhaps Freddie has now transcended and touched infinity in Dodd’s opinion, realizing he can touch anything he wants (mental freedom), seeing the infinitude in something simple and ordinary like a glass window. Perhaps he has gone through the iterations of the exercises enough to become “clear” (the word “clear” is never used in the film). Dark, foreboding music now comes in during a shared hug between Lancaster and Freddie. In my opinion, the music foretells the bleakness of certainty Freddie is 100% cured.
In the next scene, Peggy announces that Dodd’s new book will be presented in Phoenix, Arizona. After watching a few times, you realize that the work done with Freddie was most likely the catalyst for Dodd finishing the book after administering all the exercises. The film obviously doesn’t come out and say this directly, but we know Freddie has inspired Dodd’s writing, his son earlier revealed that Dodd is just making it up as he goes along and this announcement about a new book comes directly after Freddie “successfully” completes the tests. Also, is it a coincidence the city picked for the new book event is the last name of the actor playing Freddie, as well as the symbolic mythological bird that rises from the ashes after a rebirth?
Dodd and Freddie now are at a remote, desert location I assume is outside of Phoenix. They dig up Dodd’s unpublished work that had been buried. Lancaster carries a gun and looks around to make sure no one’s watching or, maybe, if a magic event might manifest. The score by Johnny Greenwood here is amazing. Again, with the two characters in this scene there is a wonderful naivety regardless of the ridiculousness of digging up this essential manuscript for “The Cause”. They are like two kid soldiers out in the great beyond full of wonder and purpose. And the shirt Dodd is wearing in this scene is hilarious.
“The Split Saber” is printed on the press. Freddie takes pictures of Dodd, which are funny and sweet. I’ve included a pair of photos below that look to be influenced by photos taken of L. Ron Hubbard.
Everyone is gathered at the book event in Phoenix now. Dodd sits in a side room and is visibly nervous. There is a church vibe to the event. The Master (Dodd) comes out on stage to cheers from the crowd. Freddie sits in the middle listening intensely with a yearnful look on his face, perhaps hoping Dodd has a huge secret to reveal. Unfortunately, Dodd just basically says some of the same stuff he’s said before and Freddie looks let down. Anderson’s closeups on Phoenix in shallow depth of field continue to be revealing and look magnificent! Freddie paces afterwards behind the stage, looking lost, angry and confused. As you look at him, his pants, shirt and shoes are way too big. Maybe because he had to borrow some decent clothes from Dodd. Phoenix walks with Freddie’s unusual gait like a wounded clown. A friend of The Cause from New York, Bill, who we’ve seen before, reveals to Freddie he thinks the book stinks. Freddie asks Bill to go outside with him and just completely snaps and slaps Bill hard multiple times. There is something comical about this. It’s as if Freddie’s been holding this monster at bay and then just releases it all on poor ole Bill. Freddie has a history of lashing out at naysayers of The Cause but I don’t believe this is the main reason for the attack. I think Freddie now knows he is not “cured” or “clear” like previously thought. I think the lack of answers he felt he was going to get from Dodd’s speech and book pushed him to this, knowing deep down Dodd doesn’t have all the answers like he expected. In the following scene, Laura Dern’s character sweetly approaches Dodd sitting alone on stage after the event. She confronts him about something he has changed in the book regarding the processing and seems very confused. Dodd has a comically loud, insecure outburst displaying his lack of patience and also his unacceptance of criticism. Obviously, Freddie and Lancaster both simultaneously react harshly when The Cause is questioned despite the contrasting prior exercises practicing non-reactivity.
Freddie Runs
Now Freddie, Lancaster, Clark and Elizabeth drive a car and a motorcycle out to a deserted lake bed. On a personal note, I shot my latest short film’s biggest scene in a lake bed very similar...so similar I had to look it up online to see if it was the same one. It was not. Anyway, I remember in Roger Ebert’s review he seemed to be perplexed by this scene and what it represented. I just think Dodd decided it would be a good idea to get away and blow off some steam with a motorcycle after the stressful book event. I personally really like this scene. It’s funny, it’s visually interesting and there is a danger to it. Dodd explains the game is to pick a point and then drive the motorcycle to that point. Dodd does this first. Now it’s Freddie’s turn. Freddie takes off and speeds away. Dodd does this funny thing in closeup where he puts his hand up to block the sun, watching Freddie ride, then goes to say something, stops himself, then eventually ends up yelling, “Freddie!!” It’s something so small but Hoffman makes it so interesting and humorous and it’s hard to explain why. In my Short Film, I start my scene at this similar location with my hand up looking in the distance, as a nod to this scene with Hoffman (3rd photo).
Freddie is long gone with the bike. Dodd’s best friend has left him. “No Other Love” by Joe Stafford comes in perfectly here. It’s such a melancholy end to the scene and I just feel the song compliments it so eloquently. It’s my favorite song of the film because of this and is in the trailer. Freddie goes to the house of the girl he loved before going to the war. He finds out Dorris is married now with kids and lives in Alabama. He finds this out by talking to Dorris’ mother. Freddie missed his shot. The scene is slightly comical due to the dichotomy between the sweet, mannerly mother and Freddie’s pressing roughness and gnarled face. It’s something I always notice and enjoy watching. We are transported now to Freddie asleep alone (most likely drunk) in a movie theater. You can hear Casper the Friendly Ghost in the background and see the flicker of the big screen on the sleeping Freddie and the empty seats around him. There has to be a reason for the choice of Casper the Ghost, but I have no interesting theory why. A theater concierge brings a phone to Freddie after waking him up. It’s Dodd. Either this is a supernatural moment in the film in which Dodd just happens to know where Freddie is (because they’re “tied”) or Freddie is being followed Scientology-style. Freddie nor us know how Dodd knew he was there. This made me think of an interview (somewhere) with PTA saying sometimes details in a film don’t have to make sense or have a definite answer. Dodd asks Freddie to come to England where he currently has a school. He says he misses Freddie and says he can cure him. My guess is he’s had someone find and follow Freddie...unless the Casper the Ghost reference somehow hints at the supernatural spiritual “tie” Dodd mentions between him and Freddie and Dodd just “knew” he was there...but my theory connecting this may be too far of a stretch.
On a Slow Boat to China...
Freddie is once again traveling on a boat, which has become a motif... Freddie adrift. We see the recognizable deep aqua water paired perfectly with Greenwood’s score. The music, once again, adds so much here, producing a sense of longing and beauty.
Freddie arrives at the school looking haggard and gaunt. Jesse Plemons’ character (Dodd’s son) greets him with a wry smile of familiarity which soon turns to concern after examining Freddie’s appearance. They walk down the burgeoning school hallway to Dodd.
Freddie enters with wild eyes to Dodd’s grand office. Peggy sits off to the side and Dodd at his desk. Freddie hands Dodd some Kool cigarettes and they hug. Peggy immediately asks Freddie if he’s drunk, says he looks sick and says he’s not interested in getting better. She storms out. The two men share a smile after she leaves, but Dodd’s hands are tied. It’s worth mentioning Amy Adams (as Peggy) was also nominated for an Oscar for her role and plays a sort of antagonist to Freddie. Dodd’s book was not well received by close peers and perhaps this was due to Freddie’s influence and she saw this, maybe encouraging Dodd to cut ties because of Freddie’s negative influence and lack of dedication to The Cause. You can see here Dodd loves Freddie very much. This is scene is so good! There is a lot of heart and power here in these closeups. Dodd loves Freddie’s freedom. Freddie depends on Dodd for structure and meaning and a place to stay. Dodd then says my favorite lines of the film, “For if you figure a way to live without serving a master...any master...then let the rest of us know, will you?” With the risk of over-explaining, I’ll dive in with my thoughts... Dodd seems to think everyone has a Master...an obligation, a social role and something transcending mammalian daily life to quench existential and spiritual need. But does Freddie have a Master? I think Dodd thinks if anyone might know how to live without one then it would be Freddie. Would this make Freddie “The Master” and not Dodd? Who is the prophet? Dodd calls him “a man navigating the seas, going wherever he pleases, paying no rent” and you realize Freddie’s steadfast gaze reveals a mastery of something...especially according to Dodd. The culmination here of bringing to consciousness the pair of opposites in character form proves to be the thesis of the film. This is not a film with a traditional story (perhaps that Ebert hoped to understand clearly) but a special situation between two men and how they fit together like puzzle pieces...two sides of the same coin...to the point where one might think it’s possible they did in fact know each another in a past life. Dodd mentions this upon meeting Freddie for the first time and Freddie agrees there is a mutual recognition. Two inverses folding into one another creating something whole, for better or worse. Dodd goes on to explain that he finally figured out where they met in a previous lifetime and says if they meet again in the next life they will be sworn enemies. Again, there is a lovely naivete here...and said with such earnestness. And as mentioned before, it is easy to like Dodd because you believe that he believes what he says, even though we, the audience, are speculative. Again, this is not a film about trying to figure out the legitimacy of a cult but about two men trying to navigate the world the best they can. Dodd goes into great detail about their past life association. In appearance, Dodd is so regal, reserved and groomed...so certain! Freddie is mangled, gaunt and lost. Dodd now begins to sing, which is funny and heart-breaking at the same time. It’s as if this is the best way he knows to express how he feels in the moment. I remember the first time I watched this film in the Laemlle Theatre and there were a few laughs here. I also remember watching this part when I was staying with my Dad and Stepmom one Christmas on HBO. I just flipped through the channels and saw this scene and stopped to watch. My Dad had never seen the film but watched this part with me and also chuckled a bit...not in a “that’s ridiculous” way, but in a concentrated way due to the intensity of Hoffman’s performance here. As the scene carries on, I again begin to wonder if these two really did meet in a previous life. Or maybe it’s just so powerful because they both BELIEVE this past life was real, believing in a pre-destined reason for their association in this lifetime.
Freddie has now left Dodd. He is out of the office walking alone in a row of trees leaving the school. He goes to a bar, meets an English woman and they go to a room and have sex. Both are fully naked in a very human way lit in natural light. Two hominids in an animalistic act following the parting of Dodd who rejects the animal side for the fully divine. He playfully tells the woman he has to ask her some questions and she can’t blink. The processing scene is obviously still with Freddie and obviously PTA is aware of the power that scene held to call it back. She plays along for a little bit but laughs quickly and breaks. Now waltz music plays, circling back to Freddie on the beach where he was at at the beginning of the film, laying next to the sand woman in oedipal longing. Did he dream all of this?? I have watched the film around 10 times and have never thought about this as much as I have this time around. Of course, it’s ambiguous, but it could very well be true. And he did mention to Dodd in the England office he had a dream, but never got a chance to explain what the dream was. Dodd then went on to talk about their past life association. Anyway...the interpretation that I had come to previously was that Freddie has gone on this journey, but has ended right back where he started, meaning no amount of processing or methods to change his behavior can change his determinism. He is what he is. In fear of repeating this too much (which is never overtly stated in the film) humans cannot escape the fact that they are also of the animal kingdom. I believe the first shot of Freddie in the film mimicing the monkey introduces this idea. And Anderson doesn’t seem to care if the audience gets this first, coded, specific detail, but I believe there are enough clues throughout the film to make the animal comparisons to come to the same interpretation, as I’ve pointed out above multiple times to really bring my point home. Also, Freddie cannot escape how he may have suffered in the war, nor the trauma of his childhood, nor the loss of his sweetheart, Dorris, as he lays next to the breasts of the manufactured woman made of earth as the tide rolls in and out. This is still with him in his memories, shaping his present, whether he deals with it or not. And, more broadly speaking, perhaps all of this striving us humans engage in for self-mastery, and the constant modifications to ourselves to reach some pinnacle of “perfection”, we have built in our own minds is futile. We just go in this big circle, this journey and we end up right where we started. Are we “better”? Are we different? Are we “cured”? Maybe. Maybe not.
To conclude, I’d like to mention that I’ve discovered pre-determination has loomed large in all three films I’ve written about on this page. I’m not sure if it’s me or the films, but it has been the big picture idea I’ve come to on all three. It also makes me think how cinema itself is made possible, by showing and shaping a world, often overtaking the individual characters’ will. I believe this tells us something vital about our reality...cinema expressing transcendent ideas that can swallow up egoic identification, which is why films like this stick with you, pointing to something larger at play within the individual rather than solely the idea we have of ourselves.