The Master (2012)
While the idea of a secret society conjures up images of hidden meetings about nefarious agendas, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master presents an alternative version that’s reminiscent of at least one, well-known, ‘religious’ institution. This is the kind of secret society that exists for all the world to see, but conducts its business behind closed doors – requiring those inside to remain silent about their experiences. This, to all intents and purposes, is a visible society whose activities are secret.
Written and directed by Anderson, The Master stars Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell – an alcoholic, sex addicted veteran of World War II, who is unable to hold down a steady job in the 1950s. He becomes a drifter and stows away on a random yacht – finding himself meeting Lancaster Dodd upon being discovered. Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the leader of a philosophical, semi-religious movement called The Cause, and he performs a psychological exercise on Quell, designed to reveal and heal past traumas. During the exercise, a bond is formed between the two men, with Freddie in particular finding comfort in the seemingly unconditional acceptance he receives from Dodd.
What follows is an examination of the changing relationship between Quell and Dodd, as Quell becomes increasingly protective of Dodd’s agenda, to the extent that he’s pitted against Dodd’s own son. Travelling through the country, selling The Cause to whoever is ready to embrace it, Dodd’s own philosophies are called into question by more and more people, with scepticism about the efficacy of the movement growing all the time. Quell becomes increasingly unstable, and eventually splits from the group for a time – but on his return, is told by Dodd that he will be unable to live without a master of some kind.
It’s easy to become caught up in the comparisons between The Cause and actual organizations that exist in the world, but that would be to undermine the point of the story. With The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson uses the idea of a secret society – or, in this case, a society that undertakes secret activities for profit – to discuss the natural inclination of humanity to submit to a higher power.
We all need a framework within which to live our lives and build our philosophies. Quell is a man without such a thing, and he is unable to function as a result. He has no family of which to speak, no social structure, and so repeatedly submits to the content of a bottle, or the fleeting rush of endorphins precipitated by anonymous sexual encounters. So, when he meets Dodd – he grabs on to The Cause with both hands and becomes a devoted follower, until his passion for it goes too far. It becomes yet another addiction in Quell’s search for solid ground.