“If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you? For you’d be the first person in the history of the world.”

I’ve thought about this quote constantly for 8 years now. Saw this movie in 70mm at an Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, during college at my most “young adult trying to understand film as much as everybody around him.” I walked away with nothing more than “pretty movie! great acting. guess it’s about Scientology, which rocks, because i know that is bad” but something about it stuck with me. PTA’s movies have an effect on me where I walk away thinking about them intensely but not fully…

Wow.

It doesn't happen often that all elements of what comprises film reach such a high level as with The Master. It brushes with perfection on so many an occasion which left me in complete awe for everyone involved in making this, but mainly because of the three main offenders; Phoenix, Hoffman and Anderson.

Paul Thomas Anderson is unmistakably a unique, powerful and resounding voice in cinema. Whenever he creates, something happens among lovers of film. Whenever he speaks through this wonderful medium I just have to listen. And while not all of his tales are equally impressive, they are always unique in style, content and themes. I find it amazing that a director who has received so much acclaim…

Paul Thomas Anderson is The Master. He is a filmmaker with grand visions, a director whose loyal followers pour over every word and dissect every scene and a writer who explores the failings and extremes of Man. Above all he is a hopelessly inquisitive man always striving forward and never burdened by contemporary fashion. And just like Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic false prophet at the centre of this film, his latest work is his most challenging, dense, contradictory and elusive to date.

Each new Anderson film is accompanied by unrealistic expectation. It would not be hyperbole to suggest he is one of the last truly great American filmmakers still at the peak of their creative powers. Yet with such a…

Close your eyes.

Recall a word.

Ocean.

The restless ocean that looks so calm from afar, like Freddy Quell who mumbles his sentences as he speaks but upon closer inspection, has a tremendous amount of energy balled up inside him ready to be released, a nuclear core of a human being.

What do you hear?

Laughter.

Two drunk men talking to each other. One asks the questions and the other one answers. That's it. No flashy camera movements, no breathtaking scenery. Paul Thomas Anderson used only a conversation, close-ups and some over the shoulder shots to craft one of the best scenes of all time.

Recall a word. Any word.

Master.

Two masters, in fact. Joaquin Pheonix's face crumples and…

Conflict reaching its most dramatic with this one. 

I would say this is the best of the underrated films out there that I’ve seen, it is criminally underrated and not watched enough. The performances here are some of the greatest I have ever seen. 

The plot surrounding this contrast between a scientologist and a man purely in tact with his animalistic behaviour is incredibly entertaining. I won’t go too into detail but it’s this constant lack of understanding of each other that makes the two protagonists so entertaining. 

You could pause anywhere in the film and the shot would look like art. Very meticulous cinematography and precise work all round. 

Joaquin Phoenix’s best performance by far in my opinion. New…