The Master (2012 film)
The Master is a 2012 American psychological drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. It tells the story of Freddie Quell (Phoenix), a World War II Navy veteran struggling to adjust to a post-war society, who meets Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman), the leader of a cult known as The Cause. Dodd sees something in Quell and accepts him into the movement. Freddie takes a liking to The Cause and begins traveling with Dodd's family to spread his teachings.
The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson
- JoAnne Sellar
- Daniel Lupi
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Megan Ellison
- JoAnne Sellar Productions
- Ghoulardi Film Company
- Annapurna Pictures
- September 1, 2012 (Venice)
- September 14, 2012 (United States)
137 minutes
United States
English
$32 million[1]
$28.3 million[2]
The film was produced by Annapurna Pictures and Ghoulardi Film Company and distributed by The Weinstein Company. The film's inspirations were varied: it was partly inspired by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, by early drafts of Anderson's There Will Be Blood, the novel V. by Thomas Pynchon, drunken Navy stories that Jason Robards had told to Anderson while filming Magnolia, and the life story of author John Steinbeck. The Master was shot almost entirely on 65 mm film stock, making it the first fiction feature to be shot and released in 70mm since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet in 1996.
Initially, the film was set up with Universal Pictures, but fell through due to script and budget problems. It was first publicly shown on August 3, 2012, at the American Cinematheque in 70 mm and screened variously in the same way, before officially premiering at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, where it won three awards: the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film; the Silver Lion for Anderson's direction; and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, shared by Phoenix and Hoffman. It was released in theaters in the United States on September 14, 2012, to critical acclaim; its performances (particularly those from the three leads), screenplay, direction, plausibility, and realistic portrayal of post-World War II Americans were praised.
Considered one of Anderson's finest works and one of the best films of the 2010s, it received three Oscar nominations: Best Actor for Phoenix, Best Supporting Actor for Hoffman, and Best Supporting Actress for Adams. In 2016, The Master was voted the 24th greatest film of the 21st century by 177 critics from around the world.[3] Anderson has repeatedly stated that The Master is his favorite film of those he has made.[4]
Plot[edit]
Freddie Quell is a traumatized World War II Navy veteran struggling to adjust to post-war society and prone to violent and erratic behavior. He works as a photographer in a department store, but is fired after getting into a fight with a customer. While working on a farm in California, an elderly colleague collapses after drinking Freddie's homemade moonshine. Freddie flees after being accused of poisoning him.
One night, Freddie finds himself in San Francisco and stows away on the yacht of a follower of Lancaster Dodd, the leader of a nascent philosophical movement known as the Cause. When he is discovered, Dodd describes Freddie as "aberrated" and claims he has met him in the past but cannot remember where. He invites Freddie to stay and attend the marriage of his daughter as long as he will make more moonshine, which Dodd has developed a taste for. Dodd begins an exercise with Freddie called "Processing", in which he asks Freddie a flurry of disturbing psychological questions. Freddie has a flashback to a past relationship with Doris, a young girl from his hometown to whom he promised one day to return.
Freddie travels with Dodd's family as they spread the teachings of the Cause along the East Coast. At a dinner party in New York, a man questions Dodd's methods and statements and accuses the movement of being a cult. Dodd angrily berates him and asks him to leave. Freddie pursues the man to his apartment and assaults him that night, to Dodd's dismay and, to some degree, amusement.
Freddie criticizes Dodd's son Val for disregarding his father's teachings, but Val tells Freddie that Dodd is making things up as he goes along. Dodd is arrested for practicing medicine without proper qualifications after one of his former hostesses has a change of heart; Freddie attacks the police officers and is also arrested. In jail, Freddie erupts in an angry tirade, questioning everything that Dodd has taught him and accusing him of being a fake. Dodd calls Freddie lazy and worthless and claims nobody likes him except for Dodd. They reconcile upon their release, but members of the Cause have become suspicious and fearful of Freddie, believing him to be deranged or an undercover agent or simply beyond their help. Dodd insists that Freddie's behavior can be corrected with more rigorous conditioning, which Freddie struggles to internalize.
Freddie accompanies Dodd to Phoenix, Arizona, to celebrate the release of Dodd's latest book. When Dodd's publisher criticizes the book, Freddie assaults him. Helen Sullivan, a previously acquiescent acolyte, causes Dodd to lose his temper after she questions some of the book's details. Dodd takes a small group to a salt flat, inviting them to play a game consisting of picking a point in the distance and driving towards it in a straight line on Dodd's motorcycle; Dodd demonstrates, and upon returning to the group he calls it thrilling. On Freddie's turn, Freddie drives off at high speed and disappears.
Freddie returns home to Lynn, Massachusetts, to visit Doris, but learns from Doris' mother that she has gotten married and started a family. Freddie sleeps in a movie theater and receives a phone call from Dodd, who begs Freddie to visit him in England, where he now resides. Upon arriving, Freddie finds the Cause to have grown ever larger. Dodd states that if Freddie can find a way to live without a master, any master, then he is to "let the rest of us know" because he will be the first person in history to do so. Dodd then recounts that, in a past life, they had worked in Paris to send balloons across a blockade created by Prussian forces. Dodd gives him an ultimatum: devote himself to the Cause for life, or leave and never return. As Freddie suggests that they may meet again in the next life, Dodd claims that if they do, it will be as sworn enemies. Dodd sings "On a Slow Boat to China" as Freddie weeps. Freddie leaves and picks up a woman at a local pub, repeating questions from his first Processing session with Dodd as he is having sex with her.
On a beach, Freddie curls up to a crude sand sculpture of a woman he and his Navy comrades sculpted during the war.
Production[edit]
Writing[edit]
It was first reported in December 2009 that Anderson had been working on a script about the founder of a new religious organization (described as being similar to Scientology) played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.[7][8] An associate of Anderson stated that the idea for the film had been in Anderson's head for about twelve years.[9] The idea for the film came to him after reading a quote that periods after wars are productive times for spiritual movements to start.[10]
Unsure of the direction the script would take, Anderson began writing The Master as a collection of disparate scenes, rather than one coherent outline.[10] He combined unused scenes from early drafts of There Will Be Blood, elements from the life stories of John Steinbeck and L. Ron Hubbard and from the novel V. by Thomas Pynchon, and stories Jason Robards had told him on the set of Magnolia about his drinking days in the U.S. Navy during World War II (including the draining of ethanol from a torpedo).[10] Anderson conducted research about Dianetics and its early followers.[11] While writing, Anderson sought Hoffman's feedback on the script, with Hoffman suggesting the film focus more on Freddie's story than Lancaster's.[10] After the film was dropped by Universal and failed to pick up a distributor, Anderson did several months of rewrites.[12]
Casting[edit]
Anderson has stated that he wanted Hoffman to play Lancaster Dodd from the film's inception, and that he also had Joaquin Phoenix in mind for the part of Freddie Quell.[10] Jeremy Renner and James Franco were each rumored to play Freddie before Phoenix was officially attached.[1][13][14] This was Phoenix's first screen appearance since the 2010 film I'm Still Here, a multi-year performance art mockumentary project that Phoenix attributed as a factor in limiting the roles he was subsequently offered.[15][16] Reese Witherspoon was reportedly offered the role of Peggy Dodd, but Amy Adams was later cast.[17][18] For the role of Dodd's daughter, Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone, and Deborah Ann Woll were all considered, with the role eventually going to Ambyr Childers.[19]
Filming[edit]
Filming was to begin in August 2010, with Renner starring opposite Hoffman, but was postponed indefinitely in September 2010.[20][21] In May 2011, after securing financing, the film was given the green light and filming began in early June 2011 in Vallejo and Sacramento.[1][5][22] Shooting took place on Mare Island for a month using the wing of an old hospital and an empty admiral's mansion for some scenes.[9] Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, was used for shooting shipboard scenes.[23] In late June 2011, filming took place at Hillside Elementary School in Berkeley.[24]
The film was shot on 65 mm film[25] using the Panavision System 65 camera.[26] It was the first fiction film to be shot in 65 mm since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet in 1996.[27] Mihai Mălaimare Jr. served as cinematographer, making The Master Anderson's first film without cinematographer Robert Elswit.[28] The film crew used three 65 mm Panavision cameras throughout filming, and at times had an assistant from Panavision on set to help with the cameras' technical issues.[29] Originally, Anderson and Mălaimare planned to shoot mainly portraits in 65 mm, which constituted 20 percent of the film, but ultimately 85 percent of the film was shot in 65 mm.[26] The remainder of the film was shot on 35mm using Panavision Millennium XL2s cameras, often used for scenes that required a "dirtier" look.[26] In order to maintain a consistent aspect ratio, the 65 mm footage was cropped from 2.20:1 to 1.85:1 to match the 35 mm footage, at the sacrifice of some image area.[26] Most of the film stocks used were Kodak Vision3 50D Color Negative Film 5203 and Kodak Vision3 200T Color Negative Film 5213 with a few scenes also done with Kodak Vision3 250D Color Negative Film 5207 and Kodak Vision3 500T 5219.[26] Because Anderson prefers working with film, he bypassed the use of a digital intermediate, instead color grading with the use of a photochemical timer.[29]
During filming, Phoenix was allowed to improvise on set.[15] Phoenix lost significant weight for the role and came up with Freddie's awkward gait.[15] Anderson compared Phoenix's commitment to that of Daniel Day-Lewis for his level of concentration, saying that Phoenix got into character and stayed there for three months.[10][16] Anderson considered the dynamic between Hoffman and Phoenix to be central to the film, likening it to the rivalry and differences in style and temperament between tennis players John McEnroe and Björn Borg or Ivan Lendl, with Hoffman playing the more controlled and driven approach of Borg or Lendl.[30] Adams stated that Anderson would have her appear on set for scenes she was not scheduled to appear in to make her presence felt, and at times she didn't know whether the camera was on her.[31]
Release[edit]
Distribution[edit]
The Master was initially set up with Universal, but, like The Weinstein Company, they eventually passed on the project because of problems with the script.[7][8] The main issue that Universal had with the project was that the budget was too big at about $35 million.[9] It was later reported that River Road was in serious talks to fully finance the film.[36] In February 2011, it was reported that Megan Ellison, daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, would finance The Master and Anderson's adaptation of the novel Inherent Vice under her new production company Annapurna Pictures.[9][37] Harvey Weinstein later picked up the worldwide rights to the film in May 2011.[1][7][9]
Marketing[edit]
The first teaser poster for the film appeared in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival with the title Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project.[38] A second promo poster for the film appeared in November 2011 at the American Film Market with the same title.[39] On May 21, 2012, a teaser trailer featuring Joaquin Phoenix was released online and several minutes of footage from the film were shown at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[40][41] A second teaser trailer was released on June 19, 2012, which featured Phoenix as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.[42][43] On July 19, 2012, a theatrical trailer was released online by The Weinstein Company.[44] The film was given an R rating in the United States by the Motion Picture Association of America.[45]
70 mm screenings[edit]
The film was the first in 16 years to be predominantly shot in 65 mm (using Panavision System 65 cameras), a camera negative format that is subsequently projected in 70 mm (the extra 5 mm are added to the projection prints to accommodate the audio tracks). On August 3, 2012, more than a month before its first official screening at the Venice Film Festival, The Master was shown in a "surprise screening" at the American Cinematheque in 70 mm.[46][47][48] It was announced that there would be a special screening just after a screening of a new remastered version of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.[46][47] Following the credits of The Shining, it was announced that the special screening was The Master.[46][47] The film was shown with no opening titles (except for the title of the movie) or closing credits.[46][47] The Weinstein Company continued advance screenings of the film in 70 mm in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Austin.[48] Although this was done because there was strong consideration that The Master was unlikely to be shown in the format during its commercial run, the film was eventually displayed during its run in 70 mm in most cinemas that carried the film and could still project that format.[12]
Home media[edit]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 26, 2013, in the US, and March 11 in the UK. The release features "Back Beyond", a twenty-minute montage of deleted footage edited by Paul Thomas Anderson and set to Jonny Greenwood's original score. It also includes the 1946 John Huston documentary Let There Be Light, a source which Anderson reportedly found very influential in his creation of the film.[49][50]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Master grossed $242,127 at five theaters during its opening day on September 14, 2012, setting a single-day record for an art house film.[51] Overall the film made $736,311 from five theaters for a per-theater average of $147,262, setting a record for the highest average for a live-action film. During its first week nationwide, the film grossed $4.4 million in 788 theaters.[52]