The Master:
War-torn, self-destructive, alcoholic, sex-obsessed WWII-veteran, Freddy Quell, is discovered on a ship by Lancaster Dodd, a scientist with an optimistic vision of past lives and the body as a vessel for the soul. He recruits Freddy as his protege, but the unstable Freddy has a hard time buying into this cult-like organization. The film's cult organization is inspired by Scientology and it's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Also, it was inspired by a few early drafts of Anderson's dark western drama There Will be Blood, and Jason Robard's stories of drunken depression after his service in the Navy which he told Anderson, and the life stories of Californian writer John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden.) The cast, well, the main three characters, are amazing. Joaquin Phoenix looks older than usual, and gives a breathtaking performance as the unstable, repressed, angry, horny, and drunken Freddy Quell, who has angered tantrums, and has weird outbursts. He becomes the main focus of the film, and the entire film centers around his traumatic and strange life. Philip Seymour Hoffman (one of the most talented dramatic actors today) plays Dodd, who appears as a lovable, funny, smart intellectual with new visions on the mind and body. But, he is later revealed to be a strange, sexually and angrily repressed, obsessed, cultist-like man who becomes obsessed with convincing everyone of his cause and who often has strange outbursts of anger and cussing. Hoffman steals the scene at the end when speaking to Phoenix about future possible lives. Hoffman is able to play such a crazy role straight, which makes the film surreal but grounded in reality at the same time, and very few films or performances are able to do that. Amy Adams plays Dodd's wife, Peggy. She at first appears to be a kind, caring, beautiful wife. She later reveals herself to be a strange, somewhat cold woman who fully believes in her husband's cause. The scene in which she gives him a hand-job in exchange to his commitment to her is disturbing and surreal. Going into the rest of the cast is pointless, even though they're terrific, because they appear as background characters because the film focuses on the first two actors, and somewhat on the third. Although one person to note is Jesse Plemons (Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad) who appears in a small role as Dodd's son. The writing, cinematography, and direction are beautifully executed, some of the shots are so gorgeously shot, it's breathtaking. The music and pacing are slow, but they pay off at the end. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was right when he said Paul Thomas Anderson has placed himself in the league of great modern directors with this film. The Master is a beautifully crafted, albeit graphic and disturbing film, and a wonderfully written and directed film as well, see it, you owe it to yourself. 5/5 stars.
End of Watch:
Two LA cops, Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala, love each other like brothers. They begin recording their daily lives on the job, to the dismay of their fellow coworkers. Then, the two cops stumble upon a Cartel operation bigger than themselves.... Though the plot is thin, the characters are surprisingly good. Jake Gyllenhall and Michael Pena are great as Taylor and Zavala, respectively. You really feel their bond as they joke and laugh with each other on and off patrol. They can also play their roles seriously as they get scared when they sutmble upon a human trafficking operation. Anna Kendrick (Twilight, Scott Pilgrim) and Natalie Martinez are great as their wives, Janet and Gabby. The cinematography is interesting. It's a mix between found footage and a real movie. They use it to great effect, like Chronicle. The action and drama work really well, but the comedy is also very effective. It lightens the generally dark mood of the film. The film jumps around a bit, but that's why it works, it's true-to-life. Cops do drop cases sometimes and start new ones abruptly, and never look back. Not much to say, but End of Watch manages to match films like Pride and Glory but add something new, a good movie with a shocking ending. Well worth the ticket price. 3.5/5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment