Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), the 1950s-set drama centers on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as "The Master" (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Moneyball) who creates a belief system which catches on with other lost souls - and a young WW-II veteran (Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator) who becomes his right-hand man. In addition to Hoffman and Phoenix, the film also stars Amy Adams (Doubt) and Laura Dern (Little Fockers).
Haunted by his past, WW-II veteran and drifter Freddie Quell crosses paths with a mysterious movement called The Cause, led by Lancaster Dodd aka "The Master" and his wife Peggy. Their twisted relationship is the core of this film that is "a glorious and haunting symphony of color, emotion and sound with camera movements that elicit an involuntary gasp and feats of acting that defy comprehension (A.O Scott, The New York Times)."
Joe Neumaier of The New York Daily News declared THE MASTER, "the season's first Oscar contender." THE MASTER received the following 2012 Academy Award® nominations - Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Amy Adams for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film received three Golden Globes® Nominations including Best Actor in a Drama Joaquin Phoenix, Best Supporting Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and Best Supporting Actress Amy Adams.
Awarded Best Actor for both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, THE MASTER is a film "that casts a spell like a fever dream (David Ansen, Newsweek)."