“The Master” is a film about a war vet
and drifter who gets entangled in a mysterious cult. The cult leader, The
Master of the film's title, is freely based on L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the
so-called Church of Scientology. Some of the teachings and practices featured
are indeed Scientological, while others are more based on hippie era
libertinism. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh? Franklin Jones? “The Master” is a slightly
incomprehensible, “artistic” kind of production.
The cult is almost never depicted as dangerous, only as slightly weird and intractable. It's not even clear whether the drifter (who manages to break away from the cult at the end) is the guy-who-is-right. It's almost implied that the cultists may be privy to some important insights about human nature…
“The Master” is extremely dragging, and could be seen as frankly boring. It was critically acclaimed mostly due to the acting performances by Joaquín Phoenix and others. I suppose it could be of some passing interest to cult-watchers and Scientology-watchers, though. Three stars.
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