"The Master" (2012) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

“We record everything. Throughout all lifetimes”.

To say it’s been five long years since There Will be Blood and that I have been eagerly awaiting this release since it was first mooted in 2009 would be an understatement. Add in to the mix a story loosely based on the beginnings of Scientology and it’s founder L Ron Hubbard, plus the supreme acting talents of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix and it’s been a slow three years to arrive. But well worth the wait as Paul Thomas Anderson has again produced a truly wonderful film. Again Paul both wrote the screenplay and directed as well as producing but the first major change to note from his previous films is the choice of Cinematographer, with Mihai Malaimare replacing long term collaborative partner Robert Elswit. However this change doesn’t transmit in any way to the screen as you’re immediately struck by how vibrant, pinpoint sharp and colourful this film is despite it being slightly de-saturated of colour to reflect the 1940/50’s time setting.

The vibrancy of the picture is a joy, as are the multitude of settings photographed so well by Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare, bringing to life numerous beach scenes, ocean views and desert plains with a typically long lens but equally quite brilliant each time. Inside shots are framed and lit brilliantly, often in a cramped room of a house or ship, with Director Paul Thomas Anderson reinforcing the claustrophobia with tight angled shots and a gently rolling camera to encompass and capture the scene. At this early stage, all of Amy Wells (Set Design), David Crank and Jack Fisk (Production Design) and Mark Bridges (Costume Design) deserve immense credit, as does Jonny Greenwood for another haunting, jaunty and eclectic film score and overall original music.

A biased fan of Radiohead I may be, however Jonny Greenwood’s musical score is again sublime and follows on from his success with There Will be Blood. The score here is very similar in tone to that of There Will be Blood with climbing operatic pieces mixed with orchestral pieces that accompany the film perfectly but in an odd and sporadic way. There are eleven original pieces of music from Jonny Greenwood with stand out pieces such as “Overtones”, “Time Hole” and “Alethia” perfectly encapsulating the characters fractured minds as they bump and pop along in the background of the film, rising and falling gently along with the narrative.

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The above opening paragraphs are taken from my spoiler free review of "The Master" and one of my earliest forays into film writing and film appreciation over a decade ago. This review was originally written just after the release of the film and transferred to my Medium blog site on 30th January 2023 and can now be read in full and for free via my original updated article linked immediately below:

https://ramblingmusings666.substack.com/p/the-master-2012-c45abd5d162e

This spoiler free review is also integral to my 7 volumes of "essential film reviews collection". Currently only available as an e-book, all 7 exhaustive volumes of multiple spoiler free film reviews are priced at £4.99 however, should you have an Amazon Kindle "Unlimited" package you can read each and every volume for free.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4HZSTTH?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
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