Best Film of 2012: The Master

A friend of mine used to work at a movie theater, and as you can imagine there is one really awesome benefit of having a friend who works at a movie theater. You guessed it, free tickets. Now admittedly, I’m the kind of guy that would normally save my trip to the movies for big motion picture events. You know, like, uh Spiderman and Terminator. This isn’t because I dislike dramas or arthouse flicks, it’s just that I’ve been in college (again) and so time and money have been sort of rationed. 

After graduating and taking the bar exam, my friend and I 

found a trip to the movies to be a good chance to catch up and get out of the house. 

When she invited me to see The Master, I jumped at the opportunity. This was a chance to see a film I ordinarily would not get to see in theaters and that had generated a decent amount of buzz. 

For the uninformed, it's hard to say what exactly The Master is about. Joaquin Phoenix plays the role of a man, Freddie Quell, who over the course of the film appears to be mentally ill or at the very least eccentric. Freddie falls from job to job, finding nothing but trouble along the way until he encounters Lancaster Dodd, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Dodd is the leader of a group that may or may not be The Church of Scientology.

The Master brought together two incredibly strong performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jaoquin Phoenix. I’m not sure the last time I felt so drawn towards characters. It’s rare to feel that you have fallen into the inner mind of a characters in a film, but when it happens it’s addicting. I found myself not wanting the film to end. 

Will The Master stand the test of time? Will I need to own this film on Blu Ray? Or will it end up like Paul Thomas Andersson's other film that I actually do own on Blu Ray, There Will Be Blood, a film that I adored at the time but have no interest in ever sitting through again?  I can't answer that question now, but I can say that the awkwardness, intrigue, and curiosity that The Master evoked made this my film of the year.