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The Master – 2012 Paul Thomas Anderson
- In my studies I’ve rarely found another film that so rewards multiple viewings. I’m still working it out but Anderson’s films have an almost unparalleled penchant (maybe Kubrick… Tarkovsky) for cinematic layering—or formal layering or formal unpacking. I think I’m getting better and better as evaluator but clearly, as of 2012 I wasn’t getting it and I mainly praised this film for the performances.
- The processing scene, which I’m sure I’ll get back to, is the singular highlight of the careers of Phoenix and PSH, one of the highlights of PTA’s career and one of the 5-10 greatest scenes capturing screen acting
- The two leads/characters are point and counterpoint, mirrors, polar opposites and theme and variation. Both lost, both needing each other and both in search of answers (sex and “the cause” is where they end up and neither happy about it). It’s a tremendous pairing with there will be blood in many regards—this, with the two leads (in TWBB it’s oil/greed/ambition and religion/greed/ambition in DDL’s Daniel and Dano’s Eli)
- The film has clout…it thumps… and it haunts. I’ll try to explain why below
- The ending clearly mirrors there will be blood’s “I’m finished” but I also see Kubrick’s clockwork “I was cured alright” and the mickey mouse ironic ending in full metal jacket– here we have “I fell out can you put me back in” while he tries a mock-processing scene with the girl. Again it feels like it’s him and Kubrick talking to each other through art
- Father/son and mentor/mentee present in all of PTA’s work except PDL for the most part but even there he’s doing things with Guzman’s character (dressing up like Sandler’s Barry, etc)
- The formal rigor of the shot of the water… with the white wake from the boat… these are men adrift (a seaman/sailor—Freddie/phoenix), meets PSH on a boat, sings “slow boat to china” (about escaping—perhaps there’s some homosexual undercurrent here (AA seems to be holding PSH prisoner at this point)). The wake is the past
- Again, almost unparalleled subtext—baffling and cryptic but as rewarding a 4th visit as I’ve had (maybe only recent comparison in Punch-Drunk Love).
- It’s one of my favorite openings- we have PTA building Phoenix’s character just like DDL in There Will Be Blood and Sandler in PDL with the crash and the harmonium. Phoenix’s Freddie is primitive man. lost- the void. Shot of the helmet could be from Malick’s thin red line. He makes drinks (he does this at least 6 times in the movie), humps the sand lady, masturbates—women– (dream of everyone naked about half way through the film, the ending), hangs off the ship (stunning shot in 70mm)
- Travers “Restores your faith in film as art form”—“I believe in the church of Paul Thomas Anderson”
- PSH’s lines are absolutely hilarious black comedy. Particularly the “linger at bus stations” and When he reads his qualifications as a nuclear physicist.
- Evolutionary like DDL and the bone at the end of TWBB and the silent opening- “man is not an animal” by PSH. Calls Freddie a “caged animal”
- First song when Freddie gets job as a photographer “Satan, get thee behind me. I want to resist”
- Both expansive and intimate
- It’s not an easy narrative. I think the first hour is easier- but then it stops- it’s a film about how there are not answers.
- To be clear it’s not just a narrative jigsaw puzzle Rashoman, Memento or 21 Grams or something where you’re combining splices—it’s a formal jigsaw puzzle
- Many critics struggled- said PT was “chasing his own tale” or had become the master- a leader with no answers
- The Greenwood score is impeccable- if it’s not as good as TWBB it’s 9/10’s and it’s right there in your face in the beginning along with a gorgeous montage of booze, wrestling, the crabs story, the female in the sand, phoenix hunched over with those arms on his hips and then him passed out
- The ink blot scene- “pussy” a dozen times
- Freddie asks if a man (who he is photographing) if these pictures are for his wife. When he says “yes” Freddie tortures him. He can’t have it.
- Freddie is falling—goes from legit job as photographer to becoming a picker. He kills the guy who he says “you look like my father”
- PSH says “I’m a man just like you”
- What’s in this potion? “Secrets”- layering
- PSH can pull off this “making it up as he goes” because he’s so damn charismatic
- There is not a glance wasted in 137 minutes. Every piece of the décor, every word, it all has formal meanin
- I feel like parts of the score echo Bernard Herrmann’s in vertigo– feels surreal—the floating/dream-like quality
- The second time we have the formal break for the wake water shot is just after processing
- They smoke after the processing like sex
- In a key scene with Adams it’s she who is talking/dictating and PSH who is typing—then we have the great scene of her masturbating him in the mirror. He’s not allowed to do this on his own (opposite of Freddie)
- Jail scene- Phoenix is uncaged early Brando—PTA telling the story of the two character in wordless compare and contrast
- Dern’s house is in Philly- brotherly love
- The naked scene- it could be a daydream—but I think there are multiple hints throughout the film that the entire thing is a dream/afterlife/etc. When he first ends up on PSH’s boat Phoenix/Freddie is sleeping and it seems very weird how the girl gets him and brings him to PSH. Plus, we have the phone call in the movie theater. This is not real.
- 3rd time wake/water interlude after that
- Blue color (from water) galore
- Salt mine scene I know I was hoping for more- it’s empty. Answerless. He tries his old girlfriend Doris and nope- love is not the answer for Freddie. That’s gone.
- A Masterpiece
Drake2022-01-27T12:21:21+00:00
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Best Movie of the 2010s imo, Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman give the 2 best Performances of the Decade (and they both have ironically each been named the best performance of the decade respectively).
@Randy– You are so right. I’ve seen the articles where they are both named the best. I just put Phoenix’s work here on the list of the best 25 performances of all-time but if someone argued with me that PSH was actually better I would disagree– but wouldn’t call them crazy.
Can you do a top of the best performances ever ?
@KidCharlemage– I put this on another page recently- An old friend mentioned Natalie Portman in Black Swan and yeah– I missed that and would add. I’d probably remove Mia Farrow (though it kills me) to make room
Jimmy Stewart – It’s a Wonderful Life
• Jimmy Stewart – Vertigo
• John Wayne – The Searchers
• Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
• Robert De Niro- Taxi Driver
• Maria Falconetti – The Passion of Joan of Arc
• Emily Watson- Breaking the Waves
• Peter O’Toole- Lawrence of Arabia
• Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood
• Peter Lorre- M
• Charlie Chaplin – The Gold Rush
• A Woman Under the Influence – Gena Rowlands
• Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
• Jean-Paul Belmondo – Breathless
• Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront
• Marlon Brando The Godfather
• Al Pacino – The Godfather Part II
• Humphrey Bogart – Casablanca
• Giulietta Masina – La Strada
• Ingrid Bergman – Casablanca
• Ingrid Bergman- Notorious
• Mia Farrow – Rosemary’s Baby
• Denzel Washington – Malcolm X
• Naomi Watts- Mulholland Drive
• Marcello Mastroianni – 8 1/2
No Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now here? I’m not sure about what I’d take off though.
Interesting, Zane. Sheen is wonderful there, although he would not be one I would consider quickly for a top 25. I’m not sure he even gave the best performance in Apocalypse Now. I made a list on the It’s a Wonderful Life page a while ago with a myriad of honorable mentions and explanations for the performances included. I would like to rearrange that list, and I have watched some more films since then with tremendous acting that I should include. Here is my top 25+2.
1. Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront
2. Renee Maria Falconetti – The Passion of Joan of Arc
3. Peter O’Toole – Lawrence of Arabia
4. Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
5. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
6. Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
7. Marlon Brando – The Godfather
8. Gloria Swanson – Sunset Boulevard
9. Anthony Perkins – Psycho
10. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
11. James Stewart – Vertigo
12. Humphrey Bogart – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
13. Natalie Portman – Black Swan
14. Malcolm McDowell – A Clockwork Orange
15. Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves
16. Douglas Rain – 2001: A Space Odyssey
17. Vivien Leigh – Gone With the Wind
18. Gene Hackman – The Conversation
19. Klaus Kinski – Aguirre, the Wrath of God
20. Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot
21. Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
22. Al Pacino – The Godfather Part II
23. Diane Keaton – Annie Hall
24. Paul Newman – Cool Hand Luke
25. Denzel Washington – Malcolm X
26. Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
27. Ingrid Bergman – Notorious
Best of 20s-30s
1. Maria Falconetti – The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Vivien Leigh – Gone With the Wind
3. Charlie Chaplin – City LIghts *I have not seen any other Chaplin movies yet*
4. Peter Lorre – M
5. Katharine Hepburn – Bringing Up Baby
Best of 40s
1. Humphrey Bogart – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
2. Ingrid Bergman – Notorious
3. Orson Welles – Citizen Kane
4. James Stewart – It’s a Wonderful Life
5. Orson Welles – The Third Man
Best of 50s
1. Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront
2. Gloria Swanson – Sunset Boulevard
3. James Stewart – Vertigo
4. John Wayne – The Searchers
5. Takashi Shimura – Ikiru
Best of 60s
1. Peter O’Toole – Lawrence of Arabia
2. Anthony Perkins – Psycho
3. Douglas Rain – 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. Paul Newman – Cool Hand Luke
5. Marcello Mastroianni – La Dolce Vita (tie)
5.5 Jean-Paul Belmondo – Breathless (tie)
Best of 70s
1. Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
2. Marlon Brando – The Godfather
3. Malcolm McDowell – A Clockwork Orange
4. Gene Hackman – The Conversation
5. Klaus Kinski – Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Best of 80s
1. Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
2. Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot
3. Rutger Hauer – Blade Runner
4.
Best of 1990s
1. Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves
2. Denzel Washington – Malcolm X
3. Anthony Hopkins – The Silence of the Lambs
4. Juliette Binoche – Three Colors: Blue
5. Joe Pesci – Goodfellas
Best of 2000s
1. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
2. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
3. Maggie Cheung – In the Mood for Love
4. Naomi Watts – Mulholland Drive
5. Leonardo DiCaprio – The Departed
Best of 2010s
1. Natalie Portman – Black Swan
2. Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
3. Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
4. Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis
5. Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
@Graham that is a great list. but i’ll say three things i’d change. for me john wayne would be in the top 25 for the searchers and possibly red river. also i’d include montgomery clift probably in red river. finally i think de niro would be in my top 5 of the 70s number two after brando in the godfather.
@zane i think i would have sheen in my top 25. not only is he very good in person but i think either him or ray liotta gives the best voice over in cinema.
I just realized that I made a grave error with my list; I did not include Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James in the 2000s top five. I think he may be number three there.
Thank you, D.W.Griffith. John Wayne in The Searchers is one of the performances closest to the list that did not make it. He is incredible in that movie and I can’t make a specific case for why he is not included. De Niro in Taxi Driver (I assume this is his 70s performance you are referencing) is one of the closest as well. Along with Sheen in Apocalypse Now, he should be in the conversation (whoops, wrong Coppola film) of the best voiceover acting. Douglas Rain must be there if that counts, as well as MacMurray in Double Indemnity, Manz in Days of Heaven, Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption, and many others. I have not yet seen Red River, though I hope to soon.
@graham cool. yeah i meant de niro in taxi driver. great performance. as for red river my favorite hawks film and one of my favorite movies i think. terrific film. also i understand you including douglas rain in the list. 2001 is another one of my favorite films. that is a terrific performance. what do you think of keir dullea (dave in 2001) and his performance. some people think of him as just another piece of clockwork in the film but i thought he did a great job. i liked his very subtle, nuanced performance.
I’ll try to prioritize Red River in my upcoming viewing. It sounds great. I consider 2001 to be perhaps the greatest artistic work I know, so clearly it is Kubrick who has the greatest achievement and craftsmanship. However, I think Douglas Rain’s vocal performance as HAL is underrated, and I’m glad you agree. It is relatively easy to imitate such a character but quite difficult to embody him which such humanity and control as Douglas Rain.
I can see the counterargument to the strength of Keir Dullea’s performance, but I agree with you (your use of the word clockwork a reference to another Kubrick film perhaps?). His coldness and lack of outward emotion reminds me of Ryan Gosling, especially in Blade Runner 2049. David Bowman is an interesting foil to HAL due to their similarities – both are calm, methodical, and enjoy art – and many differences – HAL is pleasant in his calmness while Dave comes off as unsymphathetic and frustrated. I think many analyzers of the film seem to ignore a fact that seems clear to me: over time, the evolving humans seem to lose humanity and emotion, while their technology seems to grow in these aspects until the point when the two “species” reach the same level and the monolith becomes obligated to restructure them. Take the apes in the first section: they are lazy but crazy, making obnoxious noises and gestures. The humans in the next section are much less emotional and rather similar to the humans of 1968. The living characters in the next section are even less emotional than that, having lost their humanity and feeling due to their own technology. Once Dave’s choice to destroy HAL brings a new level of emotion to the computer, the two are at the same level of humanity. Thus, the monolith must transport Dave to a place in which it can create a new race of Star Children that will not be challenged by their own creations.
@graham that is an interesting idea. there are so many ways of analyzing everything in 2001 and to me above all it is a testament to human technical achievement and craftsmanship. have you seen this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdbh_FiRLyw .
it’s kubrick discussing 2001 in a rare interview, and his interpretation on it. it is quite fascinating.
and tell me what you think when you see red river. i think it is on amazon prime if you have it.
This is my ranking of all his films that I’ve seen so far
1. The Master
2.There Will Be Blood
3.Boogie Nights
4.Magnolia
5.Punch Drunk Love (not a bad film but easily the worst of his that I’ve seen and the only one that’s not a Masterpiece)
I have Inherent Vice sitting on my shelf and I still haven’t watched it yet
I really wanted to thank you for recommending this movie. It feels so utterly different to the movies I’ve seen until this, thematically and how the same is portrayed.
I was wondering if you could explain the meaning of the recurring ocean wake and the bike ride in the desert.?
@JC – thanks for the comment and for visiting the site. I talk about it above but I think the wake is not only a remarkable formal motif– but represents the past– (a copy past below from above on the wake)– I think the ride in the desert is a search for answers. Freddie is lost, disillusioned by a lost love, the war– falling into booze, sex, then looking for answers being an acolyte for PSH’s church– not getting those answers (and that’s the desert ride and the release of the new book where PSH reads aloud and Freddie realizes he’s full of it… and then the final wallop at the end where he’s back again where he started.
“the formal rigor of the shot of the water… with the white wake from the boat… these are men adrift (a seaman/sailor—Freddie/phoenix), meets PSH on a boat, sings “slow boat to china” (about escaping—perhaps there’s some homosexual undercurrent here (AA seems to be holding PSH prisoner at this point)). The wake is the past”
Thank you so much for that again. I’ve been floating all over your website for a few months and its truly marvellous.
As a novice to cinema (as an artform atleast), would you recommend me to watch a specific auteur’s filmography or pick out movies from your best of all time lists or elsewhere?
Also, couldn’t find your review for the top Hitchcock movies, is it a glitch from my side?
P. S. Thank you so much for the reply and the work. Amazing man, hope you never stop.
@JC- thank you for the kind words- much appreciated. If you are just starting off I would recommend a sampling of different directors, genres, decades on the best all-time list.
It isn’t a glitch on Hitchcock. I don’t have pages for his best films yet- I started the site really in 2017 and shockingly enough haven’t seen most of Hitchcock’s films since then. I have 5-6 individual reviews up for other films of his. I’ll be posting them when I get to them. Sorry — but no page yet for Vertigo, Rear Window, Notorious etc.
Thanks a lot reply!
Will do the same.
What is the better performance DDL in Lincoln or Joaquin Phoenix in The Master?
Is Phoenix in The Master the best performance of the decade?Can you compile a list of the 10 best performances of the decade?
@Chris- I did male and female actors of the decade here and here http://thecinemaarchives.com/2020/01/28/the-10-best-male-actors-of-the-2010s/
http://thecinemaarchives.com/2020/01/24/the-10-best-female-actors-of-the-2010s/
but I have not put together a list of single best performances. It’s a fun exercise and interesting idea but I haven’t done it — at least yet
What are your top 10 best male performances of the 2010s?
After a recent viewing I am trying to think of another time with 2 performances this good in the same film and I am drawing a blank…
any suggestions? and to be clear I am talking about a film with 2 standout performances that are the primary performances so a movie like the Godfather with an ensemble cast wouldn’t qualify
The Assassination of Jesse James, Persona, Heat, Vertigo, Lost in Translation, Mean Streets, Chinatown, Fight Club, Schindler’s List, The Lobster, and arguably Once Upon a Time in America, The Deer Hunter, Boogie Nights, Fargo, and Y Tu Mama Tambien (though BN, Deer Hunter and Y Tu Mama are really 3 performances)… the list goes on and on.
You’ve also got films like Blood Diamond that aren’t quite on the level of those others but have two great performances at their center.
Thanks for the suggestions, I haven’t seen a number of these and/or been a while.
Especially excited to rewatch Once Upon a Time in America and Mean Streets
I also remembered Chazelle’s films Whiplash and La La Land, as well as David Lynch’s Wild at Heart and Lost Highway (again technically 3 performances there but only ever 2 at once, and Mulholland Drive doesn’t count because neither Harring nor Theroux are on the same stratospheric level as Watts) after posting my comment. Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus also come to mind, although I’ve seen neither. My understanding of Wim Wender’s King of the Road is another two-man show that Drake thinks very highly of but I have not yet gotten around to it.
Yep, love OUaTiA and Mean Streets. The first announcement and last hurrah of two great Italians.
@James Trapp- jumping in a little late so forgive me if these were already mentioned— so you’re looking for what is called a “two-hander”- many of these are great examples. The Sweet Smell of Success is another– I just covered 1957. Midnight Cowboy? Fight Club is a maybe because of Helena Bonham Carter thrown in there.
@Zane
love Whiplash, still gotta check on La La Land
@Drake
Yeah, “two-handers” hadn’t heard of that term before but yeah that’s what I’m talking about. Actually watched Sweet Smell of Success lately, loved it, actually commented on the page for 1957 recently. Midnight Cowboy is one I haven’t seen yet so I’ll add that to my list
Hello, Drake! Thank you for this magnificent website. I’ve been reading it for a few months now and your knowledge and devotion is remarkable.
I’m here to be humbled. I have no idea what it is that you’re talking about when you talk about “form”, or say that a film is “formal”. I’m very sorry, but… what is that? I’ve looked it up and read some stuff that helped, but I really just can’t grasp it and find it on my own. Can you dumb it down for me, please? Why is The Master formal but Magnolia isn’t? I feel like I have an intuition, but couldn’t explain it to anyone else.
I’m sorry to waste your time with such frivolous questions, but I guess we all start off somewhere. Thank you once again.
Hello, Drake! Thank you for this magnificent website. I’ve been reading it for a few months now and your knowledge and devotion is remarkable.
I’m here to be humbled. I have no idea what it is that you’re talking about when you talk about “form”, or say that a film is “formal”. I’m very sorry, but… what is that? I’ve looked it up and read some stuff that helped, but I really just can’t grasp it and find it on my own. Can you dumb it down for me, please? Why is The Master formal but Magnolia isn’t? I feel like I have an intuition, but couldn’t explain it to anyone else.
I’m sorry to waste your time with such frivolous questions, but I guess we all start off somewhere. Thank you once again.
I’m imagining a version of The Master, set in the jungle, depicting the story of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski going crazy.
Graham – Just saw this comment…brilliant! There is a documentary about the bizarre working relationship/friendship called My Best Fiend (1999)
But yeah just watched The Master (2012) again and I can imagine the Herzog and Klinski being in the scene in The Master where they’re both in jail screaming at each other
[…] The Master- P.T. Anderson […]
I’m gonna declare this one one of the best reviews on this site. This is an incredible analysis Drake. Has me wanting to rewatch this immediately to see if I can notice some of the connections/points made here
Do you think Freddie Quell is PTA’s greatest character to date, or does that go to Plainview?
@Matthew- Very nice of you to say- I’m happy to hear you like this page- thanks. Boy- tough question- I’d put Quell and Plainview as 1 and 1a. If you forced me- I’d say Plainview as just because Quell (and The Master) shares so much with another character- Lancaster Dodd. Where I think DDL/Plainview consume so much more of There Will Be Blood.
I’m with you as well on Plainview, and for largely the same reason as well. I actually think these are probably the 2 best characters of the century so far, let alone for just PTA’s filmography. Not to discount DDL and Phoenix’s achievement here, but the only common factor for these 2 characters is PTA, so incredible for him. I really hope he gets back to The Master and TWBB levels of ambition, I’ve enjoyed his last 3 projects but he’s taken a big step back from that marvelous Boogie Night to The Master run (best 5-movie run ever?)
Kind of unrelated, but not exactly as PTA has been a big factor in this. But I’ve recently been devoting these past couple of months to learning about film form and am wanting some more recommendations to keep exploring that. Got any? I had a big breakthrough with Magnolia recently (in large part because of your page), and because of that I found myself being able to apply that knowledge when evaluating films myself, The Shining has been the best example of that. Caught it last week and I watched the movie completely different this time being able to understand the formal elements. Looking forward to doing the same with The Master with the aid of this page. I’m aware that In the Mood for Love is one of your go-to-examples so I watched that recently too
@Matthew- I’ll keep thinking. 2001, The Music Room, and Intolerance all come to mind right away. More recent examples include certainly Punch-Drunk Love but we’re already talking about PTA here. Both Waves and Dunkirk have some interesting formal elements. I’ll try to think of some more.
@Matthew
I would agree with this being one of the best reviews, I would also include the pages for;
High and Low (1963), The New World (2005), Brazil (1985) and the best page on the site
in my opinion would be the one for Chungking Express (1994).
@Matthew@Drake
I would also call Daniel Plainview the best character of 21st Century. Freddie Quell is such an amazing character as well, however and I know I am in the minority here (especially on this site) but if forced to pick
I actually think Lancaster Dodd is my favorite character in The Master and I think they are equally great performances. Don’t get me wrong though, I certainly wouldn’t waste my breathe arguing against Freddie Quell or Joaquin Phoenix.
Some great characters from the 21st Century
Lou Bloom from Nightcrawler (Jake Gyllenhaal) is one of the creepiest and strangest movie villains, he is a unique character with his bizarre mannerisms and way of speaking. He is simultaneously fascinating and repulsion and vile
M. Gustave from Grand Budapest (Ralph Fiennes) is such a rich character, with great comedic chops but also has tender scenes with Zero who becomes like a son to him, it’s a perfect blend of humor and intrigue
The Bride from Kill Bill (Uma Thurman) is one of Tarantino’s 2 best characters in my opinion with the other being Sam Jackson’s Jules Winnfield but of course Jules is from Pulp Fiction, a 90s film. I don’t think Thurman gets enough credit for non combat scenes and even though I think Part 2 could have been trimmed about 10 to 20 min the final showdown with Bill features the best acting of Thurman’s career in my opinion
The last one I’ll list for now would be Joey Cusack / Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) I don’t think this one gets nearly enough credit. The violent confrontation/fights are certainly over the top and not realistic and are not meant to be. While everyone remembers the brutal violence it is some of the subtle aspects of the character that really impress on multiple rewatches. For example, there are 2 or 3 times when the Midwest accent of “Tom Stall” changes to the Philadelphia accent or Joey Cusack. It is such as complex performance from Viggo whose character goes back and forth a couple of times. This is most evident in the scene where the Ed Harris character and his two lackey’s are killed by Tom and his son. Just seconds after the brutal confrontation in the front yard of the Stall’s house Tom approaches his son with a crazy look on his face which quickly changes back to Tom Stall. Viggo is fully convincing as both the easy going family man/small business owner Tom Stall and the violent to the point of sadistic murderer gangster Joey Cusack. There are other films that explore characters with multiple personalities but they usually are shown within the context of a mental illness not someone living a double life.
I don’t think that’s necessarily a wrong take. I mean, I really look at Freddie and Lanchester as purely a duo, every characteristic about one is meant to be a counterpoint to the other, so my ranking of the 21st Century characters might look like: 1. Daniel Plainview 2a. Freddie Quells 3a. Lancaster Dodd… etc
I’m trying to think of other characters but I can’t think of any that I think are about these 3. I haven’t seen a History of Violence or Kill Bill yet, but I agree that Gustave and Lou are incredible. I actually think Lou is really Plainview-esque as well
Some other characters that I think are really interesting are Robert Ford/Jesse James, Leonard Shelby, The Joker (Primarily Ledger), Furiosa, Riggan Thomson, Diane Selwyn/Rita, Hans Landa, Anton Chigurh, Vincent (Collateral), Driver (Drive). (I haven’t seen American Psycho but I know that Patrick Bateman gets lots of praise.) Maybe I have too much of a villian bias, or am fascinated by the psychology of psychos too much lol. I don’t think it’s crazy to add even more PTA characters with Barry Egan and Reynolds Woodcock either
2a Freddie 2b Lancaster*
@Matthew- This is really well done here all the way through. We’re on the same page for sure.
@Matthew – There is a really great YouTube Series called “Analyzing Evil”. I have brought it up on this site before but it is essentially a series of in depth character analysis for Movie and TV Villains. There is a great episode on Lou Bloom and many other iconic Villains like Hannibal Lecter, Travis Bickle, Tony Soprano, Walter White, Patrick Bateman, John Doe from Seven, Amon Goth, and many others. I am the same way regarding my interest in Villains, I love true crime and most of my favorite films revolve around dark themes.
Great picks I especially love Vincent from Collateral, fascinating character, it might be my favorite Cruise performance after Magnolia.
Rosamund Pike is great in Gone Girl as the masterful manipulator Amy Dunne. I see you got Barry Egan, I love that as well as Sandler’s Howard Ratner from Uncut Gems (2019). Jeff Daniels character Bernard Berkman from The Squid and the Whale (2005) is a very complex character; his arrogance is obnoxious but also hilarious in many instances.
Yep, yep, the Vile Eye is a great channel. I watch them quite often
I forgot to include this as I wasn’t considering television series, but Walter White, and really a couple of other characters from that universe would make my “best of the century character list”. But I think this generally favors television characters as they obviously have much more time to build and unravel
@Matthew – yeah there are a number of great episodes on characters from the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul Universe. Good point, the amount of time that a characters on a multi-season show does give them an inherent advantage by allowing for character development. I mean look at how complex Jimmy McGill is compared to “Saul Goodman” from Breaking Bad.
@James Yep. You just simply can’t get a character that fleshed out in 2 1/2 hours
I would also add Michael Fassbender’ Brandon from Shame. *Fascinating* character study
@Matthew – Watched Shame (2011) recently, agreed fascinating character. Carey Mulligan as his sister Sissy is amazing as well; some of their scenes together are absolutely brutal to watch. Brandon would seem to be the envy of lots of men; makes good money, expensive apartment, frequent sex with attractive women get there is not one moment in the film where he seems happy or even content. He is utterly miserable with the lone exception when he goes on a date with his co-worker but even that falls apart when he can’t perform sexually because he actually made a connection with her; basically the Madonna–whore complex.
It’s a very different type of film but have you seen American Psycho? Christian Bale gives the best performance of his career as Patrick Bateman. Like Shame, it’s a very dark film but unlike Shame it’s very very funny. Both films use the premise of good looking, wealthy Yuppies living in NYC and both are harboring secret lives. However, Patrick Bateman narrates througout much of the film giving you access to the mind and thoughts of Patrick Bateman whlie Brandon comes across as more mysterious given that he is very stoic and we don’t have access to what he is thinking.
His Masterpiece, although Punch Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood are at the same level with Phantom Thread and Magnolia a notch below. I think PDL and TWBB have better, tighter editing. The Master is more elegiac almost like a Terrence Malick film.
Incredible character study. I love the Let There Be Light influence (I’m sure you have seen it, the John Huston PTSD Documentary). Some of his best focused writing, no idea what the critics were watching. Just beautiful filmmaking I could watch repeatedly