Awards Season 2020: The 92nd Academy Awards

Well, colour me surprised! Always nice to have a curveball or two, considering a lot of the awards seemed to be foregone conclusions. Prior to Best Director, the biggest surprise of the evening was Le Mans '66 winning for Best Film Editing!

I really liked the opening number by Janelle Monáe (with a lovely cameo by Billy Porter). There were a few funny one-liners between Steve Martin and Chris Rock (especially with the pointed comment that the Oscars don't have a host because of Twitter) but it went on a bit too long. But, like last year, having no overall host worked well. 

As usual, some of the interactions between some of the individual hosts was patchy (Diane Keaton seemed on a different planet, whilst Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and James Corden and Rebel Wilson were just painful [although Corden and Wilson started off well taking a potshot at Cats]) but others were better: Mahershala Ali was great announcing the Best Supporting Actress category as was Olivia Colman announcing Best Actor, Ray Romano and Sandra Oh actually made me lauigh out loud when they presented Best Make-Up & Hairstyling, and Tom Hanks showed a great amount of humour when he announced that the long-awaited Academy Museum will open on December 14, 2020. If I ever make it to LA, I'll definitely look it up!

The musical performances were particularly noteworthy this year: there was a fantastic performance by Idina Menzel and an international cast of Elsa voice actors for Frozen II's 'Into The Unknown', and there was a fabulous montage about movie music which led to a powerful performance by Eminem performing his Oscar-winning Original Song 'Lose Yourself' from 8 Mile that brought the audience to their feet. Cynthia Erivo gave a soulful performance of 'Stand Up' from Harriet. I also particularly liked the energetic medley of the Best Original Score nominees, conducted by maestra Eímear Noone (the first time a woman has conducted at the Oscars in its 92 year history). There was also a very touching performance by Billie Eilish during the In Memoriam section. 

On to the awards themselves.

So, in my predictions, I got 4 out of 6. Got the acting categories right. Like many, I expected 1917 and Sam Mendes to win but there was something quite lovely about seeing both Parasite and Bong Joon Ho win; Bong's Best Director acceptance speech was very touching, especially the bit about splitting the award between all five nominees. Parasite made Oscars history by becoming the first film not in the English language to win Best Picture; it's also the first film from South Korea to be nominated for the newly-renamed Best International Feature Film and also to win it! 

Hildur Guðnadóttir also made Oscars history by becoming the first Icelandic person to win an Oscar, taking the Best Original Score for Joker. Her acceptance speech was quite lovely as well. I thought it was very touching that Elton John and Bernie Taupin won Best Original Song for Rocketman, celebrating their partnership of over 50 years. 

In his acceptance speech, Brad Pitt rightly mentioned the work of the stunt crews (and they really should have an award for that). There was a wonderfully humble speech by Best Documentary Feature winner Julia Reichert, giving proper respect to her fellow nominees which was nice. I was absolutely chuffed at Roger Deakins' win for Best Cinematography for 1917; an incredibly well deserved win. 


Below is the full list of winners at the 92nd Academy Awards:


Best Motion Picture of the Year: Parasite

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Best Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Best Director: Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)

Best Original Screenplay: Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (Parasite)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Toy Story 4

Best International Feature Film of the Year: Parasite

Best Cinematography: 1917

Best Film Editing: Le Mans '66 [a.k.a. Ford V Ferrari]

Best Production Design: Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Best Costume Design: Little Women

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Bombshell

Best Original Score: Joker

Best Original Song: '(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again' (Rocketman)

Best Sound Mixing: Le Mans '66 [a.k.a. Ford V Ferrari]

Best Sound Editing: 1917

Best Visual Effects: 1917

Best Documentary (Feature): American Factory

Best Documentary (Short Subject): Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If You're A Girl)

Best Animated Short Film: Hair Love

Best Live Action Short Film: The Neighbors' Window

In terms of how many awards won by each film, it's quite an even spread; all bar one of the nine Best Picture nominees took home at least one Oscar apiece. Parasite is the big winner of the evening, winning four awards, with 1917 taking home three. 

Despite multiple nominations, The Irishman, Harriet, The Two Popes, Pain And Glory, and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker all walked away empty-handed. Given that The Irishman was one of the most nominated films (10 nods, and the only Best Picture nominee not to win anything), that must smart somewhat. 

Congratulations to all winners!


Now if you'll excuse me, it's 5:15am in the UK and I could really do with some sleep... Hopefully that cafetiere of strong coffee I had around midnight won't stop that happening. 

Awards Season 2020: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2019 at the 92nd Academy Awards.

As with last year, there will be no main host again this year. Personally, I liked this approach. It cut down unnecessary faffing around and brought the runtime of the show down to a manageable three-and-a-bit hours. OK, some of the guest presenter 'banter' was dreadful but that's par for the course with things like this. Last year opened with Queen and Adam Lambert absolutely smashing it, so hopefully there'll be a similar high-energy start to tonight's proceedings.

It has become a tradition for me to predict the nominations and the winners in the main six categories (the four acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture).  I've done this since 2003 with varying degrees of success. Last year, I got 4 out of 6 (as Olivia Colman and Green Book took the respective prizes, instead of Glenn Close and Roma). I have a feeling there'll be less of a surprise tonight...

So, without further ado, here are my predictions for who will win.

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

With a SAG Award, Critics' Choice Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe already in the bag for her role as divorce lawyer Nora Fanshaw, it's going to be unlikely to hear anyone else's name. And rightly so. Dern's performance is superb (in a film full of superb performances); her amazing rant about the disparity between mothers and fathers- that women are meant to be perfect and woe betide if they're not, whilst men can get away with being lazy parents- is a particular highlight. Dern doesn't play a stereotypical hard bitch- she's warm, empathetic, but totally committed to getting what's right and fair for Nicole (Scarlett Johansson).

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

I'll be honest with you: I didn't rate Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood at all. I found it overlong, self-indulgent and fairly offensive in places. And, with further honesty, Pitt's performance as stuntman Cliff Booth who may (or may not) have killed his wife is easily my least favourite of the five that have been nominated. But, like Dern, he's swept the boards so it feels like it's his turn.

Best Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Whilst the film itself is a bit patchy and several scenes just feel too fantastical or made-up, there's no denying that it's a powerhouse performance by Zellweger as the incomparable Judy Garland. Playing Garland's insecurity and passion to the hilt, it's the kind of performance that Oscars are made for. It never feels showy or look-at-me-I'm-acting-ma, Zellweger disappears into the icon and gives her life.

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

I would dearly, dearly, DEARLY love Jonathan Pryce's name to be read out in this category but I don't see it happening. As with all of my other acting predictions, Phoenix has swept the awards boards so it feels like a bit of a foregone conclusion. Despite what I think about the film (and my opinions on it are well known if you read the blog or listen to the podcast), I do concede that Phoenix puts in a committed performance as stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck who becomes the Clown Prince of Crime. Is the film deserving of this accolade? I'm not sure. Is Phoenix? Yes. 

Best Director: Sam Mendes (1917)

Best Picture: 1917

Aside from sharing the Critics' Choice award with Bong Joon Ho, Mendes has been the standout winner in the director category for 1917, scooping the Golden Globes, the BAFTA and (importantly) the Directors' Guild Award. Again, it feels like a foregone conclusion for him to snag his second Best Director Oscar (20 years after winning for American Beauty). 

The lack of a Best Film Editing nomination for 1917 feels egregious, because a lot of the work of making it look like a single take is done in the editing suite, but veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins thoroughly deserves his nod (and deserves to win). As a film, 1917 isn't just style over substance; you're on the soldiers' side as they race against time to stop a battalion from walking into an ambush. Buoyed up by a stellar cast (including Colin Firth, Andrew Scott, and Benedict Cumberbatch), these are [or should be] star-making roles for George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman. The film is technically assured and has a heart behind it. It would be a truly deserving Best Picture winner.

Hopefully I'll be watching the broadcast live in the early hours of Monday morning, and I'll post as soon as I can with my thoughts about the ceremony and all the winners.

Awards Season 2020: BAFTA Film Awards Winners

So, as it turns out, I didn't get to see the BAFTA Film Awards until this morning. 

Therefore, it was yesterday evening (2nd February 2020), at the Royal Albert Hall, that the 73rd British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted by Graham Norton, hosting for the first time. 

Saoirse Ronan, Al Pacino, Hugh Grant, Quentin Tarantino, George Mackay, Robert De Niro, Sam Mendes, Daniel Kaluuya, Florence Pugh, Taron Egerton, Charlize Theron, Naomie Harris, Richard E. Grant, Gillian Anderson, Jonathan Pryce, Zazie Beetz, Ian McKellen, Scarlett Johansson and Margot Robbie were among some of the stars in attendance to celebrate the best in film.

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners:

Best Film: 1917

Outstanding British Film: 1917

Leading Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Leading Actress: Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Director: Sam Mendes (1917)

Original Screenplay: Parasite

Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Mark Jenkin (writer/director), Kate Byers and Linn Waite (producers) (Bait)

Animated Film: Klaus

Documentary: For Sama

Film Not In The English Language: Parasite

Cinematography: 1917

Costume Design: Little Women

Editing: Le Mans '66 [Ford V Ferrari]

Make Up And Hair: Bombshell

Original Music: Joker

Production Design: 1917

Sound: 1917

Special Visual Effects: 1917

Casting: Joker

Short Animation: Grandad was a romantic.

Short Film: Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If You're A Girl)

Rising Star: Micheal Ward

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: Andy Serkis

BAFTA Fellowship: Kathleen Kennedy

The usual names in the usual positions. I don't think there'll be many surprises come Oscar night. This isn't to denigrate any of the performances as they are all engaging (even if the film around them is shonky). This is the first year that BAFTA have recognised achievement in film casting. It's an incredibly important part of the movie-making process, yet it feels egregious that there's still no recognition for stunt work or vocal performances. This should be sorted. 

1917 was the big winner of the night, with seven BAFTAs (all very well deserved). Joker got three, and Parasite got two. Despite multiple nominations, The Irishman, The Two Popes, Rocketman and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker all walked away empty-handed. 

Congratulations to all winners!


This coming weekend (8th-9th February) will be busy, as it's Oscars weekend. Before that though, there's the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony and the Razzie nominations. Busy, busy, busy...

Awards Season 2020: Golden Globes Winners

Last night (Sunday 5th January 2020), the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the winners of the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film, in a ceremony hosted by Ricky Gervais for the fifth (and possibly final) time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): 1917

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Best Director: Sam Mendes (1917)

Best Actor (Drama): Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Taron Egerton (Rocketman)

Best Actress (Drama): Renée Zellweger (Judy)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Awkwafina (The Farewell)

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood)

Best Original Score: Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker)

Best Original Song: 'I'm Gonna Love Me Again' (Rocketman)

Best Foreign Language Film: Parasite

Best Animated Feature Film: Missing Link

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Tom Hanks


Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood was the big winner of the night with three Globes, with 1917, Rocketman and Joker with two apiece. Absolutely nothing for The Irishman, which is interesting. 

A couple of nice surprises- Missing Link winning Animated Feature over Frozen II and Toy Story 4, and Taron Egerton getting the Best Actor (Musical/Comedy) for Rocketman, particularly. Acting awards for Zellweger, Pitt, and Dern shore them up nicely for a potential Oscar win, although it's never actually a guarantee. 

It was an evening of firsts: Parasite became the first Korean movie to win the Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe, whilst Hildur Guðnadóttir becomes the first solo female winner of Best Score, and Awkwafina is the first actress of Asian descent to win the Best Actress (Musical/Comedy).

Congratulations to all winners!

There'll be more awards news a little later today with the announcement of this year's Writers Guild Awards. 

Review: Joker (UK Cert 15)

SPOILER WARNING! This review discusses and/or mentions a few important plot points. If you would prefer not to have these spoiled, please stop reading now and come back once you've seen the film.

Afflicted with a condition which causes sudden and uncontrollable laughter, Arthur Fleck makes his living as a clown, although he aspires to be a stand-up comedian. However, when he is sacked from his job then gets into an altercation with three Wall Street douchebags on the subway, Arthur begins a spiral to becoming... the Joker.  

This film was always going to be a tough sell for me. As I've said in previous reviews, I'm not a massive fan of Joaquin Phoenix so the film already had that going against it. Also, I was wary about any kind of origin story for the character, as the Joker always works better as an enigma, an agent of chaos and anarchy, rather than there being a man with a past behind it (the obvious exception to that is The Killing Joke, but even that's not definitive). So, the film had a bit of an uphill climb before it even started. But I suppose director and co-writer Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Due Date) and co-writer Scott Silver should be congratulated. They've done something I never thought possible: they've made the Joker dull. 

I'll give Phoenix this: his performance as Arthur/Joker is certainly committed. Losing over 50lbs, his body looks ravaged, angular, and frankly unwell. It's a physical transformation up there with Christian Bale's in The Machinist, and it does make for a striking visual image. But the script is bland, tedious, self-important, and over-reliant on Phoenix's tics and tricks which (had they been used sparingly) would have been more effective. Take the laughter, for instance. The first time you hear it, it's unnerving. Not so much, the fifth or sixth. It loses its impact quickly. Similarly with all the dancing; the first time it happens, it's quite striking (although goes on too long). But that is used and overused to the point of absurdity. 

Arthur/Joker describes himself as a "mentally ill loner" but the illness is never specified, and frankly the screenwriters are playing a dangerous game tying mental illness to villainy. Jesus, as if it needs saying, but not everyone with a mental illness is an unhinged obsessive with a streak of sadistic violence lurking just under the surface. See? You've made me go all 'Not all men...' on this issue, Phillips! Similarly, the script goes for the most low-hanging fruit to give some kind of explanation for Arthur's mindset (child abuse), which is frankly insulting. At least they (sort of) undo the 'Arthur-is-Thomas-Wayne's-illegitimate-son' angle which had more than one audience member scoffing with derision (although there's still a maddening hint at the end that it could still be true) and they don't pull a Batman (1989) with having Arthur as the Waynes' killer which looked glaringly like the case at one point.

The main problem I have is that Arthur never feels like the Joker. If you look back at other versions of the character (specifically Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson), there's a tension, a menace, every time they're on the screen. At any moment, they could erupt into an act of hideous violence then continue as if nothing had happened. That danger makes them enthralling. Not once, never once, did I feel that about Phoenix. There was a hint of it in the final scene when he gets on to Murray Franklin's chat-show, but by that point it was too little too late. Phoenix does a better job at the character than Jared Leto did in Suicide Squad, but if that isn't damning him with faint praise, I don't know what is. 

In the press interviews for Joker, one of the main influences that has been talked about a lot is late 70s/early 80s Scorsese, specifically Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, and The King Of Comedy. So it's no surprise that Robert De Niro turns up to try and give the film a bit of legitimacy by having him as talk-show host Murray Franklin who initially mocks Arthur (and even gives him the name 'Joker', although not as a compliment). It's a solid turn by De Niro, but the role of Murray Franklin could have been played by literally any other actor. 

Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2) gets massively underused as Sophie, a nascent love interest for Arthur, but there's a clue from the off that things aren't quite right; when Sophie goes to Arthur's door to ask whether he had been following her to work (because nothing says romance like stalking, am I right?), she decides to forgive him this massively creepy behaviour because he's 'funny'. Frances Conroy- another great character actress- is wasted as Arthur's overbearing mother Penny, although she does get one or two good lines, especially one where she asks Arthur 'don't you have to be funny?' to do stand-up. 

The film isn't a complete let-down: there were some bits I liked. The scene where you see why Arthur gets fired (for bringing a gun to a performance at a children's hospital) is well done. I liked Brett Cullen's unexpectedly hard-man turn as Thomas Wayne; Thomas always seems to be presented as a kind of wimpy milquetoast, but here he's got some guts. The Modern Times sequence (where Arthur infiltrates a gala showing of the Chaplin film then confronts Thomas in the men's room) is strong. Plus the sequence towards the end, where he's driven through the rioting streets of Gotham, surveying the madness that he's wrought, is pretty effective. It's just a shame that the 'Kill The Rich'/us-v-them/destroy the 1% now feels a bit like going over old ground; had the film been released a few years ago, say around the time of the Occupy Wall Street movement, it might have felt a bit more relevant.

All said, Joker was a letdown. A few interesting moment shine through amidst the self-indulgent claptrap but they're few and far between. There was no real need for this film to be made at all, and even less need for a sequel. Let this end here. For the love of God, please.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2019: Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

This morning, the nominations for the 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced at a press conference in Los Angeles. That means two things: 1) Awards Season 2019 has started; 2) I get to start a new spreadsheet. It's the little things in life.

As you will probably know by now, the Film Independent Spirit Awards recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system (although there is becoming an increasingly wide overlap between these and the more 'mainstream' awards). 

Below is a selection of nominations:

Best Feature

Eighth Grade

First Reformed

If Beale Street Could Talk

Leave No Trace

You Were Never Really Here

Best Director

Debra Granik (Leave No Trace)

Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk)

Tamara Jenkins (Private Life)

Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here)

Paul Schrader (First Reformed)

Best Male Lead

Johh Cho (Searching)

Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting)

Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)

Christian Malheiros (Socrates)

Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really Here)

Best Female Lead

Toni Collette (Hereditary)

Glenn Close (The Wife)

Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)

Regina Hall (Support The Girls)

Helena Howard (Madeline's Madeline)

Carey Mulligan (Wildfire)

Best Supporting Male

Raul Castillo (We The Animals)

Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)

Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade)

John David Washington (Monsters And Men)

Best Supporting Female

Kayli Carter (Private Life)

Tyne Daly (A Bread Factory, Part One)

Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace)

J. Smith-Cameron (Nancy)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

A very even spread of films getting multiple nominations this year, with Eighth Grade, First Reformed, We The Animals, and You Were Never Really Here with four nominations each. 

A few eyebrows may have been raised for the lack of nominations for Roma and The Favourite- they were not eligible for any other categories than Best International Film as the films do not contain 'significant American content'. Considering one's about a family in Mexico City and the other is about eighteenth-century England, they may have a point...

The Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out on Saturday 23rd February 2019 (the day before the Academy Awards). 

The next Awards Season update is just under three weeks away, when the Golden Globe nominations will be announced on 6th December. 

Review: Her (UK Cert 15)

There's an 2012 episode of The Big Bang Theory called 'The Beta Test Initiation' which, as a subplot, has the hapless Raj fall in love with and start dating Siri, his iPhone 'personal assistant' (I should just clarify that, in the US, Siri has a female voice whereas in the UK it's done by the bloke who does the voice-over for The Weakest Link). The reason I bring this up is just to point out that it's a very similar premise to the plot of Her, Spike Jonze's latest movie.

Set in the year 2025, Her is a love story with a twist. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) spends his days writing emotional and love-filled letters for other people. He's a lonely everyman figure, in the last stages of getting divorced from childhood sweetheart Catherine (Rooney Mara). He gets a new operating system with artificial intelligence which can be personalised to the user. After a few questions, the OS initialises. She calls herself Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). She's smart, she's funny and she's eager to learn about herself and the world. Their relationship starts to grow and Theodore finds himself falling in love with her...It's a great premise- and, in some ways, quite high-concept sci-fi- but I just didn't find myself falling for it.

I will admit that a part of my nonchalance towards the film stems from the fact that I don't like Joaquin Phoenix as an actor and, if I'm honest, I never really have. So to sit through a film where he is in virtually every shot is a bit of a trial. So why did I go and see it? Well, the film has a very interesting premise. Going into a Spike Jonze movie- he previously directed Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.- you know you're in for something slightly off-the-wall, slightly weird, a bit oddball. But there were points in the film (and I don't want to give any spoilers) where things just got a bit too weird for me. 

Performances vary from passable (Phoenix), to good (Chris Pratt as Theodore's workmate Paul, providing a bit of comic relief) to pretty damn amazing: Mara only has one scene of dialogue- there are many scenes which are cut together where dialogue is muted or not shown (which started to get very irritating very quickly)- but she shines as she tries to comprehend Theodore's new relationship. Amy Adams provides able support as Theodore's friend Amy who follows a similar story arc to Theodore. But the standout performance comes from Johansson who is just superb as Samantha. It's a nuanced and quite brilliant performance, made all the more extraordinary for her not being seen on screen. 

Ultimately, how you view this film- how you view any film- comes down to personal taste. Her has an intriguing premise and there are some knockout performances in it. It's received widespread critical acclaim and garnered a load of award nominations and wins- such as the Golden Globe and the Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the AFI's Movie Of The Year. However, for me, it also has an air of trying to be quirky, trying to be out-there, setting itself up as a truly original concept (which it actually isn't) and trying a bit too hard, which did grate on me. There were others in the screen who absolutely adored it and were enraptured and gushing about it afterwards; there were others who saw it as a pretentious waste of time. I get the feeling this is going to be a real Marmite film- sadly, for me, I wasn't keen.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Tez

Review: The Master (UK Cert 15)

I wanted to like The Master; not only like, but enjoy. I've enjoyed some of Paul Thomas Anderson's other films (Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood especially) and it has two actors that I like (Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman). On paper, it seemed like a cert. The reality is somewhat different.

Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a man with a few issues. Demobbed from the Navy after the end of the Second World War, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he is truly damaged goods: a violent borderline alcoholic who can't hold down a job and has sex on the brain. He stows aboard a ship which is being used by 'The Cause', a pseudoscientific cult led by Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman). Rather than throwing him overboard, Dodd takes Quell under his wing, seeing a chance to redeem him.

Quell is a fundamentally unlikeable character which made it difficult for me to have any empathy towards him or even care about his 'journey'. It didn't help that Phoenix's performance felt a bit hammy in places; the constant slurring and mumbling got annoying as well. As things dragged on, my patience with Phoenix's mugging and mumbling wore out so- by the time of the final meeting between Quell and Dodd, which should have been a real powerhouse (akin to the end of There Will Be Blood)- I couldn't have cared less what happened.

Hoffman is miles better as Dodd, a charismatic orator with a mass following. The Cause seks to use what seems to be past-life regression to deal with present-day issues and Hoffman at least makes the cod philosophy Dodd espouses sound believable. There are two moments where The Cause is challenged; one by a sceptical onlooker at a gathering and the other by a member of The Cause over the use of the word 'imagine' rather than 'recall' (maybe giving credence to Dodd's son's dismissive statement that he's making it up as he goes along). Both times Dodd explodes. There's a dangerous underswell in Dodd which isn't really utilised. In the final scene, Hoffman manages to make 'Slow Boat To China' seem tender and sinister at the same time.

Perhaps the best- and most surprising- performance in the entire film comes from Amy Adams, who plays Dodd's wife Peggy. There are some intriguing hints that she is 'the power behind the throne' and is a staunch supporter of Dodd's ideology almost to the point of fanaticism. She is underused, perhaps, but makes an impact every time she's on screen. It's a performance full of steel and ice, miles away from the family friendly good girl of Enchanted or Julie & Julia.

The 'processing' scenes at the beginning are quite intense and filmed well, but several other 'treatments' (such as Peggy reading sexually explicit prose to Quell, and Dodd asking Quell to walk back and forth between the wall and the window) seemed baffling to me. There was some controversy when the project was first announced that it was inspired directly by Scientology; people with a better grounding in those practices than I could probably point out the deeper similarities, but there does appear to be at least a passing correlation between Scientology and The Cause.

My main issue with The Master comes from the script: in places, it has the turgid, pretentious air that can sometimes come when you have an auteur behind the lens. Plus there's too little that is adequately explained- don't get me wrong, some ambiguity can provoke interest (whilst spoon-feeding the audience can be patronising and unwieldy) but there is such a thing as being too elliptical. There's some surreal imagery which doesn't add anything and Jonny Greenwood's jarring, intrusive and atonal score got to be very irritating.

Sadly, some good performances can't redeem this muddled mess of a film.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Tez