Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
The Cause versus The Way

The Cause versus The Way

Last updated on: September 21, 2012 at 5:58 am by Kendrick Kuo

The Cause versus The Way 2012-09-21T05:58:47-06:00 Kendrick Kuo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Review of The Master, Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

By KENDRICK KUO

Paul Thomas Anderson (affectionately called PTA) captured my imagination in high school, when a friend introduced me to Magnolia. Following that, I was shocked and challenged by Boogie Nights and more recently deeply appreciated There Will Be Blood. Even his critics admit that he is a master of his craft and admire his ingenuity and audacity to keep pushing the line in Hollywood. This brazen disregard for conventions, in my opinion, demonstrates a faith in the audience to track with him. It’s a high estimation of the public’s appetite and ability to stomach those crazy foods. If you’ve seen his films, you know what I mean.

My one word for The Master: engrossing.

The Master follows the life of Freddie (Joaquin Phoenix) who’s a Naval veteran and struggles with alcoholism and what seems to be PTSD. Freddie is violent, spontaneous, and almost animalistic. He encounters Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) and becomes enlisted in The Cause, which is a cult surrounding Dodd and his eponymous book. Dodd teaches a pop-psychological pseudoscience about reincarnation and tapping into past lives, traveling between the homes of rich patrons that seek to gather more believers.

I would recommend the film with the qualification that the film has strong sexual overtones and can be shockingly crude at times.

The Film as Art

Let’s have the easier conversation first about the aesthetics of the cinematography. One couldn’t ask for more. The saturation of colors is fresh and innovative. The very opening scene is stunning, and it’s nothing but artistry from then on out. The dialog is pregnant with underlying meaning and innuendo, the characters have great depth, and the acting draws the audience into its mysterious world. One scene alone, where Freddie is broken and puts his trust in Dodd, might very well win Phoenix a nod at the Oscars.

But what about the story? The story is unraveled in an almost jolting way. There is no clear climax or cathartic moment, and at the end of the film, I was left wondering—What did I just see? In all honesty, I left the theater in a daze. And analysis of the film can be endless, so I would like to gather my thoughts under two headings.

[Warning: Spoilers Below]

Cult of Personality

Dodd’s cult of personality is directly attacked at three points. First, at the house of the first patron we meet, there is a naysayer who questions Dodd about the science behind his methods and assertions about soul migration. Dodd boils over during this cross-examination and ends by cursing him out. The second attack occurs from Dodd’s own son, who tells Freddie that his father makes it up along as he goes. The third attack comes from Freddie, when he condemns Dodd as a charlatan.

This is the underlying tension throughout the film. But whether Dodd is speaking the truth is not a question for the audience. I’m assuming that PTA is targeting an audience that doesn’t believe a single word Dodd is saying. The admission from PTA that some elements of the film are drawn from L. Ron Hubbard’s life (the founder of Scientology) could only reinforce this audience bias. For me, the question was whether Dodd himself believed what he wrote and said.

The answer, I believe, is no. After the publication of Dodd’s second book, The Split Saber, one of his patrons points out that it differs from the first book when it comes to the standard battery of questions used during “processing” (similar to Scientology’s auditing). Another patron outright says that the second book is worthless.

This has parallels to contemporary false teachers. Televangelists immediately come to mind, along with the positive thinking advocates. Discrepancies in their thinking are glossed over. And sadly, even when exposed for what they are, they continue to deceive thousands and maintain a loyal base of disciples. In the same way, every time Dodd appears to be exposed, he gets back up and the next thing we know, he has an even larger audience.

The Way described in Acts is different than The Cause. The true Master is no liar.

Conquer the Self

Freddie has a problem—or rather, many. He has psychological trauma from WWII, a drinking addiction, and we learn that he was molested by his aunt. Dodd takes it upon himself to heal Freddie of these ills and recreate a whole man. This requires going through bizarre exercises, some of which made no sense to me.

Unfortunately, Freddie never breaks free of his bondage. Dodd’s techniques only serve to frustrate Freddie and stir him up into a frenzy. Sometimes it seems to work and he appears to improve, but the movie concludes with Freddie appearing to return to his animalistic ways.

The Way’s Spirit-enabled sanctification is different than The Cause’s self-help improvement course. The true Master gives grace.

Beware of False Religion

PTA’s film is ultimately a study about cults, their charismatic leaders, and the Master-disciple relationship. Each of these things has been abused in religious institutions and that’s why so many people now think organized religion is a bad word. The Master lends fodder for such skepticism.

But what if there is a truth about reality that people must be told? And that this is only revealed through one true Master? This true Master is no self-aggrandizing leader; in fact, he gave his life. And this Master-disciple relationship is not that of an ego dominating another, but one of unfathomable love.

Drama

Films

Paul Thomas Anderson

Previous Post

September 20, 2012

Madam Bovary

Next Post

September 24, 2012 True Grit, Old School

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Action AFI Top 100 Animation Best Picture Winner BFI Top 250 Biography Biopic Books Childrens Christian Classics Classics Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Editor's Choice Family Fantasy Fantasy Films Foreign Historical Historical Fiction History Horror Horror IMDB Top 250 Indie Memoir Modern Novel Musical Mystery Non-Fiction Oscars Philosophy Poetry Popular Literature Reading and Writing Reality Romance Science Fiction Science Fiction Silent Sports Thriller TV Show Uncategorized Western Westerns Young Adult

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which New Testament book is written entirely as a letter to an individual?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jude Philemon James 1 Timothy