Paste your essay in here…It was early 2013 on a Tuesday, and I was at Best Buy with a group of friends. Walking through the aisles of newly released films, I saw a box-art that caught my attention. It was an image of Joaquin Phoenix blended in with a blue background, something about it just lured me in. I remember feeling the elevated text along with my fingers as I picked it up from the shelf. I saw it was a film by PTA, I had heard of him before but never truly dove into his filmography other than “There Will Be Blood” and “Boogie Nights.” It was under 20$, and I hadn’t been introduced to the idea of blind buying yet. It was a gamble on whether or not I was going to love this film by which I mean, am I going to get my money’s worth?
I had asked my friends if they wanted to watch this new film with me, they all asked if I had seen. I replied, “no.” They all said in unison, “Why’re we going to waste our time on some trash.” For the record, I no longer speak to those individuals or any that trash the G.O.A.T. Either way, I made my way to my room after being dropped off. I had my shades closed so that not even the tiniest bit of sunlight could break through. If Van Helsing had stopped by, he’d probably think my room was the perfect resting place for a vampire, pitch black. I had my glass of Coke with only three ice cubes floating inside the cup. I don’t usually eat when I watch a film since I believe it distracts me but from what I remember, I hadn’t eaten all day. Nacho cheese Doritos and Valentina hot sauce were going to be my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I finally hit play for the film to start and what little did I know that this viewing experience will forever change my view of cinema as a whole and life itself.
The ideas that are explored in a film range from different topics, not that many people can capture what it means to be lost or attempting to seek happiness, without verging on the side of melodrama. No one else does this better than American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. PTA was someone that I discovered in my youth when “The Master” came out. I was slowly getting into the concept that film could be more than entertainment, that it could be art. I’ve seen this film countless times, at least three times a year. It just puts me in this trance that forces me to reflect on my life and what I want out of it. I’d compare it to the television show “The Leftovers” with the ideas it forces the audience to ask themselves, without holding their hand.
In short, the film is about men return home from WW2 and assimilating back to society. The main character is a man named Freddy, who is a raging alcoholic that is always fussing about, trying to make his next drink out of whatever he finds. Through drunken mishaps, he finds himself awake on a boat out at sea. There’s a family that’s preparing for a wedding, a man in robe greets Freddy, his name is The Master or Dodd. The film to me is about the search for family and stability. This idea is backed by Freddy’s assimilation into the family almost immediately and how The Master treats him as the new family dog in the early stages of their relationship. They perform a test that’s worth watching that scene alone. I won’t go into detail as I believe it’s without a doubt the best scene of the decade.
As I’ve mentioned in my previous essay, I’ve never really had a home to call my own. I find myself identifying with Freddy, especially since we both share destructive personalities. In the early stages of their relationship, Freddy is aggressive towards anyone who denounces the philosophy of The Master. Throughout the beginning we see Freddy trying to interact with groups of people from middle-class Americans within the city, to the crop fields of migrants that barely speak the same tongue. No one accepts him for who he is, always chased out like an unwelcome dog.
The idea of having to assimilate or instead conform to one’s view is something I feel mixed on. Some people in society aren’t comfortable with you being yourself. Freddy drinks excessively, yet people are against him for doing that. Shouldn’t he be allowed to do whatever he wants? Freddy is a war hero after all but once the journey started, the country no longer cared for him. Floating through life, he finds himself a job as a photographer for a retail store. Family portraits are his specialty, with the occasional solo portrait. Many people are put off by the intensity he has. I believe it to be his PTSD, regardless of the matter, he has no friends and no one to support him.
All of the family and friends that were on the boat are apart of a group known as the cause. Most of the detail is masked other than a new book is coming out from them. PTA’s character The Master draws similarities with L Ron Hubbard which I find to be interesting on multiple rewatches. This film is layered piece by piece with subtext and nuance that attempting to decipher the meaning truly, will prove to be somewhat tricky. The idea of family is something that I’ve thought about since as far back as I can remember. Knowing there’s someone there for you in a moments notice without question, a do or die is something that I’ve questioned if it ever existed. Freddy finds his family and begins to slowly alter the direction of the cause, from inspiring Dodd after a writer’s block for what seemed like awhile due to the hints from his wife to creating turmoil within the family, bringing out the worst in nearly every single individual. The Master claims he can find trauma in past lives and cure you of it, whether it be emotional trauma or something along the lines of a medical problem like a disease in line with cancer. I believe Freddy and The Master are paralleled throughout the film, always at eye level and framed within equally framed boxes. They are one of the same in my eyes, one who's out of control and one who isn’t. The one who has power is The Master, yet he’s bound to his wife’s every decision, she demands he lets go of Freddy, and in a moment he follows. I don’t believe they are a singular person but more so the future of what an American man is. Optimistic of a beautiful tomorrow yet grounded in fear and hopelessness.
We’ve all dreamed of being the hero of this world, but that’s just a story we tell ourselves. We can’t cure disease or make our story a reality, only a few amount of people are even able to seize that opportunity. The Master explores the idea of a man that’s truly free and a man that’s bound, both aren’t happy and when together, they create chaos. It brings up points that I ask myself nearly every single day, what is it that masters us? That is a question that boils down to who are you and what defines you? I’ve longed for a home, for family, for love, and for power. I know that my life is out of control and at times it feels like the pod from a spaceship breaching the atmosphere. I think the heat and the spinning, but I cannot see clearly, the clouds, the fog, is blocking my view. I can see where I came from, explain what has happened in recollection, yet it’s as if I didn’t live it.
One aspect that always draws me in is the cinematography. Jesus Christ is the photography for this film gorgeous. Every single shot is wallpaper worthy, from the opening of Freddy laying on the boat as it slowly breaks the waves, to Dodd riding his motorcycle in the middle of a desert valley. While the film is most certainly eye candy, there’s a lot behind the framing, the choice of color palette and selection of lighting throughout. A scene in particular where Freddy and Dodd are in two separate jail cells, the camera sits still on stand, observing them like caged animals. Freddy becomes berserk, slamming his head under the metal bed frame, his shirt comes off. Dodd is calm in his cell, only the top button on his collar shirt is loose, his breathing is collected and appears to be worry-free. The framing though reveals they’re both trapped within their minds, both are not free. A moment later they are shown to be arguing, in every shot, Freddy is in, the metal bars cover his face, while with Dodd his face is always in between as if he is the righteous one.
This film is one that I’ve studied the in’s and out’s of, it’s my guidebook that I use when I craft a screenplay and shoot my short films. The idea of challenging the audience is something that fascinates me, and not a challenge like some facade that uses twist but rather a deeply woven story that makes you think. I attempt to base my characters off of Freddy and myself, the idea of a character that cannot change, creates an exciting story, it imitates real life. Every single day I tell myself I’m going to get over my anxieties, focus more on school, try better with people and to no surprise, I always fail. There’s something inside that needs to create chaos whenever things feel mundane. Could it be in our nature as humans to make a change when we’re comfortable?
I still have not found the path that would lead to me mastering myself, and I don’t think I ever will. Freddy and Dodd never find their answers, and they move on in life as separate people. The cause ends due to its public reception as its tarnished, and Dodd is outed as a false idol, Freddy continues his teachings with the women he meets around his area. It’s heartbreaking when I think about the idea that we may never control our lives, to fix our pain, our suffering. Perhaps that’s for the best, to control means we no longer have free will. PTA is a filmmaker that I deeply respect and believe this to be his masterpiece. It asks the right questions that aren’t being pushed in today’s world. No one cares or at least talks about the state of mind with the youth of today. I don’t think they ever did. We may all be Freddy, aimlessly walking through life trying to find a family that we can call our own.