This is not a date flick. The relationships in the movie are volatile and intense. Love and hate exist in the same space. To appreciate the film you have to separate the story from the acting. The story is loosely based on Scientology founded by L. Ron Hubbard. The film offers snap shots of how the cult operates from the domination by the Master to the cult devotion of his followers.
Joaquin Phoenix (and his character, Freddie Sutton) has more issues than National Geographic. Phoenix’s character is a recent World War II veteran whose future is aimless. Phoenix’s transformation into Sutton is stunning. It is evident Phoenix lost weight for this role; his frame is gaunt and his face is a leathery mask. Sutton is tortured by the past and an uncertain present. He is always on the verge of exploding against friends and foes. This guy is so messed up he cannot even belong to a cult. What dark closet did Phoenix pull this character from?
Philip Seymour Hoffman is the Master. He is Jim Jones sans Kool Aid. Hoffman specializes in playing the deceptively soft spoken domineering character, and here he does it well. His cult is young and evolving. Hoffman uses charm and when needed brutality to advance his cause. Sutton is his blunt instrument.
This was not a comfortable movie. Sutton is distressed and is unable to find peace or belonging. For all his guile, Hoffman is basically a charlatan and he knows it. As for his flock, they are sheep. Some lucky sheep will disco dance and fly jets and others will marry tall women.
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