Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is already generating Oscar buzz from critics, who have praised the film's strong characters, romanticism, and stunning imagery.
At the Venice Film Festival, the event's committee granted Anderson the coveted Silver Lion award for best director. The Master co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymore Hoffman were also awarded best actor awards at the festival. The film, which opens on Friday, September 14, currently maintains an 87% average "freshness" ranking on review aggregate site Rottentomatoes. Here's what the critics had to say.
New Yorker: "On reflection, and despite these cavils, we should bow to The Master, because it gives us so much to revere, starting with the image that opens the film and recurs right up to the end."- Anthony Lane
Village Voice: It's a film of breathtaking cinematic romanticism and near-complete denial of conventional catharsis. You might wish it gave you more in terms of comfort food pleasure, but that's not Anderson's problem." - Karina Longworth
NPR: "Gorgeous to look at and an absolute feast of strong and interesting acting." -Linda Holmes
ScreenCrush: "Even in its most perplexing moments, it's always a delight to watch thanks to the astonishing performances and the gorgeous 70mm imagery." -Matt Singer
ComingSoon.net: "Anderson has created another unmistakably unique work, an intriguing look at grassroots religion through the relationship between two men who couldn't seem more different." -Edward Douglas
Movies.com: "It's an actor's showcase that's impeccably shot and beautifully projected on 70mm. It's a film student's dream, an audience's challenge, and a worthy addition to PTA's formidable canon on the flaws of mankind." -Sean O'Connel
Time Out New York: "Ponderous and demanding, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest slows to a rattlesnake-swallowing-a-mouse lurch, a pace that makes There Will Be Blood feel like Boogie Nights." -Joshua Rothkopf
Honeycuttshollywood.com: "A hollow epic that searches for a big bang yet ends in a whimper." -Kirk Honeycutt
Slant Magazine: "The Master is Paul Thomas Anderson with the edges sanded off, the best bits shorn down to nubs." -Calum Marsh
Fox News: "Chilling, hypnotic and strikingly beautiful, Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" is a powerful essay on post-WWII America, faith and identity. Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffmann are electrifying, like two expert magicians at the top of their game." -Justin Craig
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