It's very clear to me why this film has polarized its audience. In scrolling across, I saw at least 5 people call this the worst film they've ever seen, and an innumerable call it a masterpiece. For me, it falls somewhere in the middle but below the midline.
Many of the film's parts were exceptional. The acting is deservedly raved about. I was convinced by the Master's (Hoffman) smooth talking and drawn to his radiating confidence. Freddie (Phoenix) many times made me physically uncomfortable. The music is also gripping, and a lot of the shots are gorgeous.
The film, however, is seriously lacking in substance and storyline. The ending left me feeling unsatisfied and wondering just what the point was. Freddie is our main character. He is a navy veteran with possible scoliosis that has sex with his aunt and drinks gasoline/ paint thinner cocktails. He can't keep a job due to his alcoholism and tendency towards violent outbursts. He then meets a charismatic cult leader named Dodd/ the Master, and is, for some reason, not only taken under Dodd's wing but also treated like family. Neither of the characters are moving in any discernible direction at any point in the film. At one point, Freddie up and leaves the cult. Then he comes back. Then he leaves again. Nothing is really driving these decisions. Dodd is questioned by his disciples after the release of his second book, but nothing becomes of that either.
There are some gripping sequences, specifically the moments where Freddie is being gaslit (don't blink, or the wall to window walk). But not enough here to make an engaging or even entertaining story.
Many of the film's parts were exceptional. The acting is deservedly raved about. I was convinced by the Master's (Hoffman) smooth talking and drawn to his radiating confidence. Freddie (Phoenix) many times made me physically uncomfortable. The music is also gripping, and a lot of the shots are gorgeous.
The film, however, is seriously lacking in substance and storyline. The ending left me feeling unsatisfied and wondering just what the point was. Freddie is our main character. He is a navy veteran with possible scoliosis that has sex with his aunt and drinks gasoline/ paint thinner cocktails. He can't keep a job due to his alcoholism and tendency towards violent outbursts. He then meets a charismatic cult leader named Dodd/ the Master, and is, for some reason, not only taken under Dodd's wing but also treated like family. Neither of the characters are moving in any discernible direction at any point in the film. At one point, Freddie up and leaves the cult. Then he comes back. Then he leaves again. Nothing is really driving these decisions. Dodd is questioned by his disciples after the release of his second book, but nothing becomes of that either.
There are some gripping sequences, specifically the moments where Freddie is being gaslit (don't blink, or the wall to window walk). But not enough here to make an engaging or even entertaining story.