tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post8574417574289877612..comments2024-03-24T13:26:57.317-07:00Comments on Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON'S THE MASTER: "HOPELESSLY INQUISITIVE, JUST LIKE YOU"Dennis Cozzaliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-68257379087806957872012-12-19T09:23:24.852-08:002012-12-19T09:23:24.852-08:00My $0.02 is that people who want "conventiona...My $0.02 is that people who want "conventional" stories get 15 out of the 16 screens in any suburban multiplex on any given day, where they can be told exactly how to feel and what to think and leave with the satisfied feeling of having worked it all out for themselves and looking forward to the sequel and/or remake. I'll take any PTA film any day over any of that. For starters, try this on: when you want something too much you set yourself up for failure, exploitation, or both; and Freddy's journey out of and eventually back into <i>his</i> life is much more triumphant than even he seems to understand. I'll be seeing this one again, and probably again after that, and never get tired of it. Can you really say the same about the latest live-action comic book, costume drama or rom-com?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-13028724146813573452012-11-28T12:32:58.759-08:002012-11-28T12:32:58.759-08:00Always have loved Anderson's films and this on...Always have loved Anderson's films and this one looks no different - no doubt a mass Oscar haul will be deserved.<br /><br />Not to mention that Phillip Seymour-Hoffman is incredible and Joaquin Phoenix is incredibly underutilised for the level of talent he has.Gavin Fabiohttp://moviezya.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-64047504861258710612012-11-20T15:58:50.416-08:002012-11-20T15:58:50.416-08:00I marvel at your ability to write such a thoughful...I marvel at your ability to write such a thoughful assessment of this misfire of a movie, as compared to my inarticulate WTF reaction when I saw it. Well done!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-76075809355470784502012-11-18T18:52:55.125-08:002012-11-18T18:52:55.125-08:00Dennis, I agree completely with your review, and l...Dennis, I agree completely with your review, and let me just say that I damn well wish I could write as well as you do. That being said, as a theater director I think about casting first, and I wouldn't have cast Joaquin Phoenix. I don't think he provides enough variance in his performance to keep me with him for even half of this film. I grew tired of the extreme close-ups of his tortured face, and frustrated with Dodd's continued dedication to this loser experiment; we see long before Dodd that it is going nowhere fast. I liked Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance, it was nuanced, interesting and I was drawn to him. The final scene made me nuts, a wrap- up scene like this should be avoided like the plague in most cases, and in this one the film most certainly hadn't earned it.Laura Lundy-Painenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-83678215258919201152012-11-18T13:11:52.336-08:002012-11-18T13:11:52.336-08:00I had a generally similar reaction to the movie. M...I had a generally similar reaction to the movie. My take on it is that Freddie Quell is an invincibly fucked-up person who Dodd takes on as a test case for his pseudo-scientific mental health regime, as opposed to the poor little rich kids with nothing wrong with them who make up most of his flock. Regardless of how long Dodd persists Freddie remains resolutely fucked up. This is the point where you turn your pseudo-science into a religion. It's a kind of perverse triumph of the human spirit, as Freddie remains immune to this spiritually empty therapeutic regime but as a result remains miserable and doomed. The trouble with it as drama is that there's no character development, everybody stays the way they are.Robert Fiorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357467040644448167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-50804801567547757722012-11-17T08:20:53.484-08:002012-11-17T08:20:53.484-08:00Great review, DC: thanks for this verbalization of...Great review, DC: thanks for this verbalization of themes that I felt, but since the movie didn't really excite me too much, never bothered to articulate. <br />Honestly, I think PTA should have written/created The Master to have been a novel in the style of Rudy Wurlitzer or Steve Erickson or even Pynchon (all of whom show an interest in 1970s SoCal--like PTA), before turning it into a film. <br />But I did love/hate the Extreme "ACTING" going on: wow, so much award-bait! Can't wait for the Oscar-season clip shows!<br />Once again, Thanks!<br />Ivan<br />PS: My password is "Etsxpa 9," which sound like a Soviet-era space exploration movie!Ivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16443946766217092846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-92022100731096056842012-11-16T14:32:14.727-08:002012-11-16T14:32:14.727-08:00I agree with your well-written, clearly thought-ou...I agree with your well-written, clearly thought-out review completely. Taidanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09445905825356339877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-4038815642458618352012-11-16T12:35:40.970-08:002012-11-16T12:35:40.970-08:00Dennis, I'm less critical toward The Master th...Dennis, I'm less critical toward The Master than you are but it is telling, from the critical perspective, that Anderson cut a line included in one of the trailers -- Freddie saying to Dodd, "I know you're trying to calm me down but just tell me something that's true." That seems like a conscious decision to avoid the sort of definitive thematic statement or moment many critics seem to be looking for. I can't really imagine the Freddie of the theatrical release saying something like that -- which suggests that Anderson may well have made some of this up as he went along. Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.com