From NetFlix:
Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new “religion” he forms after World War II.
Put Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman together in the same story (even better, in the same cult) and you get a really well acted film with an intriguing and always surprising plot. Hoffman plays the cult leader called “The Master” who goes by the name Lancaster Dodd. Scene after scene shows what a fraud Dodd really is. But what is cult-worthy is how the members of cult practically worship their fearless leader.
While Hoffman is doing a “masterful” job as charlatan, Phoenix plays to scary perfection Freddie the violent (WWII) PTSD drunk who has attached himself firmly to The Master who is indeed a master at using quasi-hypnosis to soften his victims’ self-hate. Freddie feels better under tutelage despite his many lapses into drunkenness, stealing, and physical violence. Even more insidious The Master tells Freddie that he, The Master, is the only person on the planet that loves Freddie. No wonder Freddie so blindly worships The Master even to the point of violence.
Looking at Joaquin Phoenix is uncomfortable. He is skinny, misshappen, hunched, almost limping rather than walking, sexually maladjusted, and often acts in a manner that is just plain weird. He has this way of putting his hands on his waist so that his body is twisted. When Phoenix puts his heart into a role he goes all the way, even if it is embarrassing to watch. His rages are so uncontrolled and overpowering (despite his diminutive size) that it takes three men to subdue him. In real life he is 38 years old but I think he looks older.
What eventually happens to Freddie? You will have to watch this strange film through to the end to find out.
