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The Master

2012 · TMDB 7.1

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

Why it matters

Paul Thomas Anderson's post-war drama follows Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a troubled drifter who falls under the spell of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the charismatic leader of a philosophical movement known as 'The Cause.'

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