There Will Be Dianetics

The Master
Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Since the final line was bellowed at the close of There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson’s next feature film has been eagerly awaited. Expectations of The Master were always going to be pretty high; especially considering the plaudits it has received from critics due to its honest fixation on Hollywood’s ever-expanding elephant in the room. Whilst the similarities between Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Lancaster Dodd and L. Ron Hubbard are bravely apparent, the questioning of Scientology's credibility is not what is most intriguing about The Master.

Joaquin Phoenix portrays Freddie Quell, a Naval veteran who has returned from the Second World War as a broken, jaded, volatile and unloved alcoholic. Drifting through post-war life on a knife-edge, Freddie encounters the benevolent and beguiling members of ‘The Cause’, who seek to heal him of his inner suffering by applying their Master’s evolving theoretical philosophy. Although Freddie’s aggressive spontaneity seems at ends with Lancaster Dodd’s idealistic charisma, the two offer each other a uniquely honest and devoted relationship as they struggle together through the public animosity they face as a result of their separate manias.

The performances from the two leads are absolutely exceptional, and make it incredibly difficult not to become immersed in the drama. Joaquin Phoenix’s high waist, low shoulders and mumbling jaw create a character who is so dangerously lost, but also so unashamedly uninhibited, that it is impossible for an audience not to become transfixed by him. Meanwhile, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s wistful and whimsical portrayal of Lancaster Dodd oozes of the authority and self-importance apparent in any man who allows himself to become deluded by his own charisma. The Master also greatly benefits from the subtly artistic directorial style of Paul Thomas Anderson, and a brilliantly simple score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, which makes the entire piece enjoyable and engaging.

The only real problem with The Master is its two and half hour running time which, not unlike the work of Lancaster Dodd, can leave you feeling that the great writer may just be pushing his luck a little too hard and making it up as he goes along. Although Anderson is notoriously reluctant to drop below the 140-minute mark, The Master lacks the broad ensemble cast and dynamic set pieces that his previous efforts utilised in order to hold the audiences’ attention. A tighter edit, therefore, may well have benefited the story and given the most exceptional scenes a little more salience.

Although it may lose focus at times, the overall success of The Master lies in its intriguing and intoxicating exploration of a psychologically broken animalist, who’s only attempt at meaning lies in an individual claiming to be greater than mortal.

8 / 10

Tainted Love

Sightseers

Dir: Ben Wheatley

Stars: Steve Oram, Alice Lowe, 'Smurf' The Dog

After directing the unforgettably dark and suffocating Kill List, you can’t blame Ben Wheatley for wanting to return to his comedy roots. His latest feature, Sightseers, manages to maintain all the trademark brutality and amorality of its predecessor - with Steve Oram and Alice Lowe’s witty script and impeccably developed characters providing great company for 90 minutes of shocked gasps, hearty laughs and guilty chuckles.

Sightseers introduces us to a thirty-something Brummie couple who are set to begin their relationship with a caravan holiday around the British countryside. Enthusiastic Chris (Oram) wants to show naïve Tina (Lowe) the luscious country he adores; yet as they progress on their tour of Little England’s quirkiest sightseeing spots (Crich Tramway Museum, Muncaster Owl Centre, Keswick Pencil Museum) the frustration of keeping their relationship exciting, whilst having to suffer their annoying fellow campers, leads Chris and Tina on a macabre journey of nihilistic violence and murder.

A product of the writers’ seven-year comedy tour, Chris and Tina are an original and enjoyable pair of oddball characters, with every one of their utterances and interactions guaranteed to ease a smile on the faces of the audience. One a dedicated lover, and respecter, of what he sees as the majestic English countryside, the other a shy and awkward dog psychologist – the pair are so pathetically out of touch with reality that they are destined to be together. Yet when they face the inevitable challenges presented by their burgeoning relationship, the romance gradually descends into psychopathic violence. It is here that the laughs get darker, but louder, as the repressed couple’s caravaning romp across a country full of obnoxious litterers, middle-class boasters and yuppie ramblers leads them down a path of homicide and arson.

Not since executive producer Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz has a film so amusingly captured the dark irony present in how the Little English view their world. Ben Wheatley was undoubtedly the perfect choice to direct this wonderfully witty script, and manages to terrifically balance both shock and humour. With the nights drawing in, and the cold and wet winter upon us, Sightseers is a delightfully dark comedy that will warm audiences with its many, many laughs.

9 / 10