Paul Thomas Anderson is Chauncey Gardener

I saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie The Master last weekend. The plot involves a disturbed World War Two navy veteran, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who by chance winds up in the inner circle of a cult led by a man played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Despite terrific acting by Hoffman and Phoenix, as well as Amy Adams who plays the cult leader’s wife, the film is, in my humble opinion, tedious and empty. Neither of the main characters is interesting. The veteran is a not bright, nor charming, nor much of anything other than too flawed to hold down a job for long or engage in meaningful relationships with others. The cult leader is neither charismatic nor inventive enough to have developed an intriguing philosophy or a worldview that is sufficiently appealing so that we can understand why people are roped in. Nor does the movie explore the psychology of the followers. What are they searching for? What need does the cult fill for them? The script doesn’t bother with such questions. Nor does it tell much of a story.

What is fascinating, however, is the debate over what the movie means. Is it “a love story between two men with titanic egos”? Is it about two men drawn together by latent homoeroticism? Is it an examination about “what it means to be part animal and part human”? Do the two men represent “two parts of L. Ron Hubbard,” the founder of Scientology? Is it “an allegory that shows how contemporary America is adjusting to a new reality brought on by a different act of war – 9/11”? Is it about how religions and the prodigal son? Here’s a link to an article listing these and other theories.

The joke, however, may be on everyone who thinks the movie must be about something. Early in the film a psychologist gives the navy man a Rorschach test. Is it a coincidence that the movie plays out like a Rorschach test among critics and audiences? Everyone sees something different in it; and what they see may say far more about them than the movie. Moreover, on several occasions followers of the cult realize that the leader doesn’t have a consistent or coherent philosophy; he’s just making it up as he goes along.

And so, Paul Thomas Anderson, I’m on to you. You made a movie – cast with famous, talented actors, shot with gorgeous 65mm high-definition film – that everyone assumes must be important. But, in fact, you just made it up as you went along. You are the Chauncey Gardener of writer-directors. Because you are dressed well and hanging with the right people, people attribute profound meaning to what you’re saying. In fact, you're just peddling gibberish.

Photos - Left: Peter Sellers as Chauncey Gardener in the movie Being There. Top: Paul Thomas Anderson.