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Originally Posted by surfdude12
The Master
Film: 4.5/5
-there are a few critical scenes that seem to provide some clear meaning on themes. For example, there is the "animal v. man" dicohotomy in one of Dodd's speeches [Show spoiler](when Freddy is hitting on one of the radio girls). Dodd discusses how his movement is aimed at "suppressing negative thoughts - something that animals are incapable of." And RIGHT WHEN he says "animals", what do we see? Freddy writing "I want to f&*k you" on a piece of paper and showing it to one of the radio girls. Dodd even calls Freddy an animal not once but TWICE - (1) when Freddy f@rts during questioning ("silly animal"), and (2) after hearing that Freddy beat up the dude who challenged Dodd ("Freddy, no! That is animal behavior. That is what animals do!"). Clearly, Dodd views Freddy as an "animal" - and thus the ideal subject for his "cause". Why? because if "the cause" can transform Freddy, it can transform anyone , and thus give Dodd maximum fuel for his fraud engine. And yet, we know Freddy is not an animal .Why? Because Dodd's daughter put her hand on his crotch and he pushed it away. Animals don't refuse free sex. After staying with Dodd for a while, Freddy seems to improve (not as wild/crazy), but he also seems more subdued/controlled/robot-like. This is where Clockwork Orange came to mind - he's become Dodd's Clockwork Orange - achieved outer improvement at the expense of inner freedom and dignity. Bad deal for anyone. I'd rather die on the streets than become a zombie like that. But what does all this have to do with the animal/human theme? After Freddy ran away (motorcycle), and tried to contact Doris (perhaps because of progress), Dodd realized that his primary asset was gone and doubled down on the manipulation of Freddy - threatening him that he'd never talk to him again if he left again, telling him that if they parted he would kill him in another life, etc etc = all to get the "animal" back into the zoo so he can use him for his fraud scheme of showing his new subjects how his "cause" worked from changing an "animal" into a "human" - the problem with Freddy (from Dodd's perspective) is that Freddy is already changed into a human and doesn't want to be caged up anymore & be put on display to further Dodd's fraud scheme. He's already achieved some level of progress (visiting Doris' house proves that) with or without the "cause" and his decision NOT to stay with Dodd is even further evidence of that progress. He's truly human. ONly an "animal" would stay caged up with Dodd
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I picked up on their interplay and the "switch" that reflects Freddy's breaking out of shell, but the animal vs. man dichotomy will be an interesting theme to explore on a second viewing. Great insight! There is an inner anguish and insecurity I picked up from Dodd as well. Sometimes to live a lie, we must over-express it. I knew somebody with Borderline Personality Disorder that did exactly this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by surfdude12
do you think PTA should have explained "the cause" more? [Show spoiler] we don't know too much about it, other than (a) it suppresses negative feelings/thoughts, (b) time travels you back to past lives, so you can mend/heal those memories, (c) involves silly repetitious exercises like walking from a wall to a window 1000x  . That is one approach. Its tough though. It seems that PTA only had 2 choices: [Show spoiler]focus on the characters, or focus on "the cause". If he focuses on "the cause" and gives us lots on that, then the bond between Hoffman and Phoenix is put on the back burner. Its no longer about them, their connection, how they "met" (past lives), etc. Its then about doctrine, beliefs, chicken or the egg, etc. I suppose you can end up with an "enigmatic" PTA film either way - focusing on "the cause" or the characters, but I know what you mean about wanting it more tied up. TWBB was definietly tied up more. We didn't see Plainview and Eli with vague character interactions like here with Dodd and Freddy - Plainveiw and Eli were always interacting in a conventional, intelligble manner. Perhaps PTA is just making the character interaction more subliminal here, so we have to do more footwork. Part of me wanted to know more about "the cause" or characters, while the bigger part of me doesn't want to know more & enjoyed trying to "solve the riddle" (as with all my favorite flicks). |
Good points. I think the religion was too integral to the character study to be able to separate into the choices you stated. PTA could have certainly milked it more without sacrificing character. I sensed a bit of restrain to keep the film from becoming
too controversial. It did make a great vehicle to display Freddy's perversion and Dodd's obsession. If I watch the film again, it will be for their brilliant acting (and of course to pick up a better grip on their characters).
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That was a great scene. Seems hard to keep up with that momentum though, as it [Show spoiler]divulged everything about Freddy in one swoop. We've learned everything there is to learn. We do have other intense scenes like the "excuse me" argument scene, jail scene, the dancing (naked) scene, and the wall-window walking scene, not to mention the "sink scene" (where adams "takes care" of HOffman ), that were all pretty intense. . It seems that PTA likes to achieve some kind of dynamics in his films, where he has intense scenes, separated by slow/calm scenes. We saw this in TWBB with [Show spoiler]oil explosion scene followed by long slow scene showing a pipeline across the country, or church yelling scene followed by quiet slow dialogue .
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There were some great scenes with powerful acting, but I was more implying that PTA lost me for the majority of the film. But for that one scene, I nearly fell off my chair! I don't need explosions to stay engaged, just give me something to care about.
Perhaps the film peaked too early. The best thing about
There Will Be Blood is the ending. Everything tense about the film explodes in your face and justifies the pace and mood of the entire film.
The Master falls into my "brilliant but boring" category, next to
L'Avventura and
Solaris. You fully appreciate what they are trying to do, but enjoy analysis far more than experiencing the film.
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Surfdude
dude! remember we agreed to keep this on the DL!!!
Drives my Mom nuts. I've done exstensive reading on Compulsive Hoarding and even the modern shrink community is at a loss on how to treat it.
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Not debating what really happened, I'm just saying it takes away from the intensity of a stealth mission. 
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