The Master (2012)
by Nathan Robertson
Paul Thomas Anderson himself has said that The Master is his favorite among the films he’s made (others include Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and most recently Phantom Thread).
Upon its release, The Master was seen as being inspired by Scientology and its founder Ron L. Hubbard. Anderson has adamantly denied that claim saying that its themes and characters are completely original and not based upon some kind of cult or religious group. Be that as it may, faith undeniably plays a part in the journey of Jaoquin Phoenix’s Freddie Quell, a man who is so desperately lost in his search for meaning that his obsession with women and his self-proclaimed skills as a liquor alchemist, are only the beginning of his deepest issues.
Following his stint with the US Navy in WWII, the film follows Quell as he travels between meaningless attempts at happiness, until he eventually reaches the company of Lancaster Dodd. A man who claims to be “a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist and a theoretical philosopher. But above all, I am a man, a hopelessly inquisitive man, just like you.” He reveals himself to be one of the few people who hold the knowledge of how the universe truly functions and how one can unlock their mind to let go of even the deepest pain. This begins a quest of self-discovery for Quell as he dives head-first into the lessons of this enigmatic teacher who seemingly holds the key to Quell’s “sickness”.
If I’m being honest, The Master is a difficult film to decipher. It’s not an easy watch and until a second viewing, I didn’t really think much about it. Since that second viewing though, I’ve thought often about the implications that Anderson’s film suggests. This implication that loneliness has the power to force drastic life decisions in an effort to feel a sense of belonging. Quell’s life was in a complete downward spiral, but all of a sudden he finds himself as an integral part of Dodd’s group, much to the chagrin of everyone but Dodd himself. In an extended sequence, Dodd has Quell walk back and forth across a room, feeling the wall and window while describing what he sees in his soul beyond the physical thing he can feel. Everything about it is insane, Quell seems to feel the same as he furiously paces, but he does it nonetheless. Why? Because Dodd made him feel like he was somebody, and that feeling of belonging could make Quell do anything.
It’s difficult to watch knowing how empty this faith of Quell’s is, to know that Dodd is a hack who has convinced an army of followers that he is a Messiah worth following. Yet it almost becomes more difficult to watch knowing how many people live their lives this way; following after some false prophet who claims to know the answers. Why? Because they offer us what they need for the moment: community. By the end of the film, Dodd seems as broken as Quell began. In a surreal moment, a sober and content Quell sits across and anxious and disheartened Dodd who proclaims, “If you leave me now, in the next life you will be my sworn enemy. And I will show you no mercy.”
One of the most fascinating things about The Master is that we never get the sense that Quell actually believes what Dodd is teaching. His real motivation seems to be a search for belonging, regardless of whether he shares the ideology. From that perspective, Quell becomes much easier to identify with because he’s as lost as everyone else. Our society is filled with people who are so lonely that they will do anything to find a place to belong. We see it everywhere, people searching in all the wrong places for some kind of meaning and love. Dodd offered to Quell a place where he was noticed and valued, a place where he was somebody, a place where he was valued. That’s all Quell or anyone of us wants. Yet as we look at The Master or any person that has been down this path, it is clear that outside of Christ, it is a futile search. We may find a place where we fit in and are treated well. We may find friends that think the same way as us and make us feel like we aren’t alone. But at the end of the day, there is only one who can make known how truly valuable and loved we are, so loved in fact that He would die on a cross and rise again to save us.