The Master
"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 first want to say that I was not expecting both Rami Malek and Jesse Plemons, two of my favorite actors, to appear in this but it was a welcome surprise nonetheless. Watch Mr. Robot and Breaking Bad!}
Its been incredibly satisfying binge watching Paul Thomas Anderson's remarkable filmography these past few days. In the span of about 2 days, I've only watched one film after the next that I've only loved just as much, if not more, than the one I've watched before.
It's incredibly rare that I genuinely love every film within a director's filmography, yet Paul Thomas Anderson's filmography is one that only ranges only from consistently great to genuine masterwork. It's remarkable, and honestly just goes to show why he's one of my favorite filmmakers and held in such high regard in general.
I've only got one film left in his filmography to watch that I haven't seen, however The Master might just be my personal favorite. And I feel like, much like I've said for his other films, a lot of why I loved those films so much also somewhat blends into why I loved this so much as well.
As like his other films, it's a beautiful looking film, with gorgeous cinematography shot on 70mm film. The score is absolutely perfect, and all of the performances are great, especially for both Phoenix and Hoffman. Technically speaking, the film alone in that regard is an achievement. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful looking films I believe that I've ever watched in my entire life.
Much like life itself and the transitions and changes that come with it as pieces of our past change into the present and help to shape our future, The Master is a challenging film to watch in a lot of respects. That's just one of the biggest reasons why I loved it so much. However, the beauty of the cinematography and the overall calmness the film exerts works as a perfect facade for the dark, cultish themes under the surface for the main story.
I do feel, however, like there's a lot of meaning here and a lot to unpack, though, that I fully haven't entirely grasped ahold of just yet.