An In-Depth Look At Paul Thomas Anderson’s THE MASTER

It’s clear that Paul Thomas Anderson has made quite the name for himself in the world of cinema, crafting many modern masterpieces that will go down in cinema history. Anderson has quite the interesting filmography, spanning across many different time periods he has always managed to bring his audience back with him by crafting his films with such palpable detail, nearly forcing us to believe that we are physically sitting there with his characters.

As a director, Paul Thomas Anderson cares about two things: his characters, and the world that surrounds them. This theme is potent throughout every single one of his films, especially in The Master.

The Plot of the Film

The Master revolves around Freddy Quell, a naval war veteran who returns home to discover the world he lives in is not the world he thought it was. Freddy has been living a rather distanced and obscene lifestyle during the war, and when he returns home he ruthlessly discovers that this lifestyle isn’t accepted. But The Master isn’t about this; this personality trait of Freddy is just simply the setup for what is to come. Freddy understands that he is not welcome and decides to flee.

On his way out he meets a man named Lancaster Dodd. Dodd is a powerhouse in terms of a character, he seems to have all of the answers for Freddy. Not only providing the morals that Freddy seems to so depressively need, but also being the man who whips him into place when Freddy steps out of line. Lancaster gives Freddy everything it seems that he has been looking for.

Freddy is a desperate man, searching for something to cling to so that he does not feel like such an outcast. In The Master this feeling seems to be a sense of belonging or being wanted. That’s why he has sex with women he does not know, and becomes broken when they reject him. If one thing is clear in The Master it’s that Freddy is broken to varying degrees. Not only physically because of his time in the war, but mentally as well.

The first time we get a real glimpse into Freddy as a character lies in a rather important dialogue scene between Freddy and Lancaster. Lancaster asks Freddy if he wouldn’t mind being a part of an experiment that he is conducting and Freddy accepts. The experiment involves Lancaster asking Freddy a series of questions, questions that seem to shake Freddy to his core when asked. The goal for Freddy is not to blink, and answer the questions as quickly and as truthfully as possible.

It is here where we truly start to understand Freddy. Freddy has many regrets, is a compulsive liar, but ultimately does not deserve to be an outcast. Even though Freddy is a loose-canon and cannot suppress the emotions he has, he still deserves to have a chance to be wanted by someone or something. That’s when Lancaster provides this, he offers Freddy to join his religious cult. Lancaster is the fearless and charismatic leader of a religious cult who stand by him through thick and thin.

It’s at this point in The Master where Freddy begins to feel accepted and wanted. Despite his constant frustration with the tasks that Lancaster gives him or the situations that Freddy gets himself in due to his recklessness, he still is accepted and welcomed to “The Cause”. Lancaster sees something that hides deeper in Freddy, “..you are the bravest boy I have ever met.” Lancaster proclaims. Freddy’s insecurities and flaws act almost as waves crashing on the shore. They constantly rush Freddy with such great strength and persistence.

A Deeper Plunge into Freddy Quell

But how does Freddy fit into Paul Thomas Anderson’s world? Well, since we’ve discovered that something Paul Thomas Anderson adores as a filmmaker is how the world interacts with his characters. In The Master, we see a few different interactions with Freddy from the world. At first, we get to see how the other soldiers interact with Freddy at the beginning of the film. Even soldiers who are just as broken as Freddy do not accept him. We always see him off the distance from the other soldiers, or partaking in an activity that the others are not. Even when we see Freddy attempt to interact with the soldiers, he is rejected.

Then once Freddy returns home, we get to see him interact with the higher ranked soldiers of the navy. And not only do they treat Freddy as lesser, but as if he’s insane. All of the things that make Freddy broken, the therapists and doctors do not accept. They see him as a lunatic, a man who has forgotten who he is and must be treated. We could go on and on but basically the point is, the entire world rejects Freddy. We learn that his mother is in an asylum and that his father is dead, so even as a young man it seems that Freddy has always battled with belonging to something.

During Lancaster’s experiment we learn that Freddy had what we can only assume is a girlfriend. And Freddy’s girlfriend accepted him, loved him even. Then she confides in him, saying that she is traveling to Norway to visit more of her family. This upsets Freddy and he enlists for a Navy job that will take him across the sea. Freddy promises he’ll return to her, but he clearly does not. This seems to be one of the core causes that has broken Freddy. He put his trust into this girl and she wanted to leave him, so in turn he leaves as well to escape his problems. So the next time the person he has confided in attempts to leave (or in this case taken), Freddy reacts violently. Lancaster is arrested and Freddy attacks some of the police officers in a desperate attempt to save Lancaster, or so he thinks.

Lancaster is furious with this decision from Freddy. He wants Freddy to grow and to change, he sees the deeper, more beautiful Freddy that he know he can surface. So when Freddy attempts to retreat to his basic instincts, Lancaster puts his foot down. Attempting to console Freddy in his darkest hour, it seemingly does not succeed. Lancaster disposes of Freddy with ease, “..nobody likes you except for me..” And now as everyone else has done, Lancaster has kicked Freddy to the curb. Forcing him to retreat back into this dark hole he was rescued from.

After Lancaster’s release from prison, the rest of the Dodd family professes their concern for Freddy. How they believe he is a spy, or not who he says he is. And Lancaster accepts this, he understands their concern and after all he is a family man so he does not put it past him. But Freddy is still somewhat special to Lancaster. “If we are not helping him, then it is we who have failed him. Tis is not?” Lancaster feels that it is his duty to assist Freddy and bring him to his full potential. So once Freddy returns, Lancaster puts him through a vicious series of mental tests. Forcing Freddy to give up his love for alcohol and change into a new man. Freddy becomes Lancaster’s primary focus in terms of a test subject, proving his abilities to “The Cause”.

Lancaster gains a new use for Freddy, not only gain for supernatural reasons but also for personal reasons. Now Lancaster can prove to his followers that he has the ability to cure any specimen. For those of The Cause who doubt Lancaster’s abilities, but also the outsiders looking in. The tests are excruciating, they push Freddy to his absolute limits. Forcing him to channel new ways of thinking and interacting with people. Causing his social anxiety issues to spike through the roof, forcing Freddy to surface these animalistic instincts. Lancaster believes in a higher being, a power above humans that allows them life. He believes he can channel Freddy to believe in this as well and find a purpose for living.

The Final Stretch

And finally he succeeds. Freddy is freed from his animalistic instincts, he accepts everything that the Dodd family has done for him and changes his ways. He becomes a new man, one that is not violent and reckless, but rather calm and collected, a man with a rather bright future ahead of him due to his commitment to The Cause. But then, almost in an instant, this comes crumbling down. Freddy falls apart and retracts to his violent self, attacking an enemy of Lancaster.

Freddy then indulges in what has broken him and attempts to visit his old fling, only to find out that she has moved on from Freddy, she has moved to Alabama and married a new man. This haunts Freddy, to his core. Shattering every and any known progress that he has made. But then in one final moment, Lancaster contacts Freddy expressing that he misses him. Lancaster promises Freddy solace one more time, swearing that he can give him everything that he needs. And one in fatal attempt at redemption and to discover this longing that Freddy has long been searching for, he travels to England.

Lancaster has started a school in England, teaching more and more people the ideals of the The Cause. And it’s in this moment that we receive the most brilliant moment in The Master, a scene of upmost importance. Not only to Paul Thomas Anderson but to Freddy and Lancaster. When asked what he wants by Lancaster’s wife, he cannot give an answer. He doesn’t know what he wants, he’s just a lost soul drifting among the aimless situations that he finds himself in. Mrs. Dodd assumes Freddy has no interest in becoming a changed man, that he has no desire to be different. Freddy is heartbroken by this, he understands that it is true. Lancaster accepts this as well, he knows Freddy is beyond the point of no return.

Conclusion

Freddy is going to live the life he wants to live and travel where he wants to travel. There is no saving Freddy and this breaks both Lancaster and Freddy. And yet at the heat of this melancholic discussion, Lancaster attempts to rescue Freddy one final time. “If you leave this place I don’t ever want to see you again. Or you can stay.” “Maybe in the next life.” It’s clear to Lancaster that he cannot reach Freddy anymore, he holds no power over him. And in their final moments, Lancaster serenades Freddy with a song: “I want to get you on a slow boat to China. All to myself. Alone.” Lancaster’s voice trembles as he sings, and Freddy breaks down crying. The two have accepted that they will walk separate paths.

The Master is a brilliant display of directing from Paul Thomas Anderson, quite possibly his best film to date. Not only does he channel everything that makes him an auteur director, but he actually even takes a bit of a deeper dive into the psyche of a broken war veteran.

What are your thoughts on Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master?