The Master

[Jack Nevada]

Anyone who posts a negative review here should be banned for their sins.

Thats not nearly enough, Shawn and Baumer should go all Passion of the Christ on their asses. 

[RobinHood26]

-

Edited August 17, 2018 by Jay Hollywood

[Goffe]

really amazing, one of the few "art" movies that I enjoyed. Wonderful cinematography, amazing acting and strong themes. The weak link is the score, just serviceable  B (80)

Edited January 4, 2014 by Goffe Luvs 1D

[Lordmandeep]

After all the hype on this forums I watched this...

 

? 

 

 

 B

[luna]

I also have to say that after two viewings I was convinced I wasn't a fan of the film. To me it was a very rare movie in which, on the surface, everything worked spectacularly - the characters & performances, the dialogue, the cinematography, the soundtrack, etc. - but the one crucial element that wasn't there was that little spark which would give it all life. Everything was there, gorgeous and moving with a fine pace, but I just couldn't establish an emotional connection with anything for longer than 15 minutes, and the further the narrative went, the less focused it became. By the end I thought PTA himself was so entranced by all the possibilities the premise and the characters would provide (1950s America! a cult! a drifting war vet! a girl that he left behind! an idealistic, well-intentioned leader of said cult! his wife who is the real Master! his son who doesn't believe him! bored lonely housewifes who worship him! sceptics calling him out on his bullshit! etc etc etc) that he couldn't decide just what exactly to make a film about. So he made one that was pretty much about all of the above but at the same time about none of it, because there's no focus. Themes, ideas pop up throughout, never to stay for longer than several consecutive scenes, sometimes to reappear again down the road; they are ever-moving, ever-fleeting and nothing, in the end, truly hooked me.

 

When it comes to the PTA filmography, as far as I'm concerned, There Will Be Blood and Punch-Drunk Love trump The Master any day of the week. Boogie Nights is better as well. Magnolia and The Master are the two films that have quite a bit going for them but are also flawed in some important ways. I need to revisit Hard Eight, but from what I remember it was a perfectly good movie, just a slight one. 

pretty much this. it seemed thematically opaque not from design, but from trying to throw curveballs in everywhere. i felt the ending was particularly off the mark.

 

but it was still good.

 

6/10

 

(note: when i say 'pretty much this', i am of course excluding the positive comments regarding punch-drunk love, which is undoubtedly the most irritating thing to have ever been created).

Edited April 28, 2014 by lisa

[Jake Gittes]

I'm almost fascinated by your intense hatred of Punch-Drunk Love. I mean it really touched a raw nerve there. And to think that such a charming movie  would ever do that...

[rockNrollaDIM]

Ehhhh. Okay. Whatever.

 

That's the best reaction I can muster up for this movie.

[JohnnyGossamer]

Movie's awesome. A. Second only to Punch Drunk for me in PTA's catalog.

[FTF]

Movie's awesome. A. Second only to Punch Drunk for me in PTA's catalog.

[Dementeleus]

Finally saw this.

[RobinHood26]

Finally saw this.

 

and....

[Dementeleus]

.... I didn't give it a B-

[Goffe]

you're a total diva, aren't you? you need people to beg for what is your opinion on the movie

 

just kidding

don't ban me

[Dementeleus]

Sorry, I was driving and couldn't resist. It's probably an A- for me, I thought it was tremendous.

[Cmasterclay]

Brilliantly acted by the three leads, fantastic cinematography, genius directing, and a master of technical elements. Also, one of my least favorite films of the decade so far. Hated it. 

[acsc1312]

Brilliantly acted by the three leads, fantastic cinematography, genius directing, and a master of technical elements. Also, one of my least favorite films of the decade so far. Hated it. 

 

[darkelf]

idk, PTA just doesn't really do it for me... (Boogie Nights excluded)

5/10

[Goffe]

The Master might be (very) hard to follow, but it still is a PTA film, which means it's perfect in every area and never boring despite being lost at various points
in the movie. 

 

TM was my introduction to PTA, who would later become one of my favorite directors. I will always have soft spot for it.

 

There Will be Blood 100/100
Magnolia 100/100
Punch-Drunk Love 100/100
The Master 80/100
Hard Eight 70/100
Boogie Nights 70/100
Inherent Vice 45/100

Edited February 7, 2016 by Goffe

[The Stingray]

Boogie Nights is a masterpiece and one of the best films of the '90s (Quentin Tarantino can corroborate this claim), but I kind of feel it has been a bit downhill for PTA after that. I mean, yeah, Magnolia is a damn fine movie and There Will Be Blood is pretty incredible, but The Master felt too cold and never really grabbed me. Sure, it's technically impressive, but to me it is a film to admire rather than actually enjoy.
 

[Jake Gittes]

Even with my ambivalence towards The Master I'll easily take PTA's 2002-2014 period over 1996-1999. PDL and Blood are brilliant and Inherent Vice improved a lot in my eyes after I read the novel and then watched it a second time.