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 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, early drafts of Anderson's There Will Be Blood, the novel V. by Thomas Pynchon, John Huston's documentary Let There Be Light about WWII veterans with PTSD, 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. Anderson has repeatedly stated that The Master is his favorite film of those he has made.

Traumatized World War II Navy veteran Freddie Quell struggles to adjust to post-war society and is prone to violent and erratic behavior. He is fired from his job as a photographer in a department store after getting into a fight with a customer. He works on a California farm until a colleague collapses after drinking Freddie's moonshine. Freddie is accused of poisoning him and flees.

Freddie stows away on the yacht of a follower of Lancaster Dodd, the leader of a philosophical movement known as "the Cause". When he is discovered, Dodd describes Freddie as "aberrated" and claims to have met him in the past but cannot remember where. He invites Freddie to stay, to attend the marriage of his daughter, and to make more moonshine for which Dodd has developed a taste. 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 girl from his hometown to whom he promised to return.

Freddie travels with Dodd's family as they spread the Cause along the East Coast. At a dinner party in New York, a man accuses the movement of being a cult. Dodd berates him and asks him to leave. Freddie pursues the man and assaults him, to Dodd's dismay.

Freddie criticizes Dodd's son Val for disregarding his father's teachings, but Val says Dodd is making it up as he goes along. Dodd is arrested for practicing medicine without qualifications; Freddie attacks the police officers and is also arrested. In jail, Freddie erupts in an angry tirade, questioning everything Dodd taught him and accusing him of being a fake. Dodd calls Freddie lazy and worthless and claims nobody likes him except Dodd. Upon release they reconcile, but members of the Cause have become suspicious and fearful of Freddie, believing him deranged, an undercover agent, or simply beyond help. Dodd insists Freddie's behavior can be corrected with rigorous conditioning, which Freddie struggles to internalize.

Freddie accompanies Dodd to Phoenix, Arizona, to celebrate the release of Dodd's book. When Dodd's publisher criticizes it, Freddie assaults him. Dodd loses his temper with acolyte Helen Sullivan after she questions inconsistencies between the new book and Dodd's previous publications. Dodd takes a group to a salt flat for a game consisting of picking a point in the distance and riding towards it on Dodd's motorcycle. Dodd demonstrates, and calls it thrilling on his return. Freddie takes his turn and drives off at high speed and disappears.

Freddie returns home to Lynn, Massachusetts, to visit Doris, but learns from her mother that she has married and started a family. Sleeping in a movie theater, Freddie dreams that he receives a phone call from Dodd begging him to visit him in England, where he now resides. Upon arrival, Freddie finds the Cause has grown ever larger. Dodd says if Freddie can find a way to live without 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 recounts that in a past life, they had worked together in Paris sending balloons across a Prussian blockade. Dodd gives Freddie 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 says 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 pub, repeating questions from his first Processing session 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.

It was first reported in December 2009 that Paul Thomas 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. An associate of Anderson stated that the idea for the film had been in Anderson's head for about twelve years. The idea for the film came to him after reading a quote that periods after wars are productive times for spiritual movements to start.

Unsure of the direction the script would take, Anderson began writing The Master as a collection of disparate scenes, rather than one coherent outline. 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). Anderson conducted research about Dianetics and its early followers. While writing, Anderson sought Hoffman's feedback on the script, with Hoffman suggesting the film focus more on Freddie's story than Lancaster's. After the film was dropped by Universal and failed to pick up a distributor, Anderson did several months of rewrites.

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. Jeremy Renner and James Franco were each rumored to play Freddie before Phoenix was officially attached. 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. Reese Witherspoon was reportedly offered the role of Peggy Dodd, but Amy Adams was later cast. 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.

Filming was to begin in August 2010, with Renner starring opposite Hoffman, but was postponed indefinitely in September 2010. In May 2011, after securing financing, the film was given the green light and filming began in early June 2011 in Vallejo and Sacramento. 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. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, was used for shooting shipboard scenes. In late June 2011, filming took place at Hillside Elementary School in Berkeley.

The film was shot on 65 mm film using the Panavision System 65 camera. It was the first fiction film to be shot in 65 mm since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet in 1996. Mihai Mălaimare Jr. served as cinematographer, making The Master Anderson's first film without cinematographer Robert Elswit. 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. 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. The remainder of the film was shot on 35mm using Panavision Millennium XL2s cameras, often used for scenes that required a "dirtier" look. 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. 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. Because Anderson prefers working with film, he bypassed the use of a digital intermediate, instead color grading with the use of a photochemical timer.