"The Master" movie quotes tell the story of a military veteran who is lost, but later finds a home in a cult-like religious movement, at least for a while. The artistic drama film released by The Weinstein Company was written, produced and directed by the Academy Award-nominated Paul Thomas Anderson. "The Master," which has drawn parallels to the religious organization Scientology, made its debut at the Venice International Film Festival before a full release in September 2012.
In "The Master," Joaquin Phoenix portrays Freddie Quell, a World War II veteran with a love of homemade moonshine and a violent streak when drunk. After struggling to adjust to life back in the states after the war, Freddie takes comfort in the The Cause, the religious movement started by Lancaster Dodd, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Swayed by the words of Lancaster's wife, Mary Sue Dodd (Amy Adams), the prospect of free booze and Doris (Madisen Beaty), a young girl that catches his eye, Freddie commits to in The Cause, working tirelessly to recruit other members, among other things. But after questioning the beliefs and intent of Lancaster, Freddie makes the choice to break away from the pack that had become his family, and attempt to destroy everything they built.
"The Master" movie is a refreshingly solemn drama which caps off the end of an exciting summer of movies including "Lawless," "Cosmopolis," "Premium Rush," "Hit and Run," "ParaNorman," "Sparkle," "The Expendables 2" and "The Odd Life of Timothy Green."
The Master Movie Quotes,
He's Dangerous
Mary Sue Dodd: "I wonder how he got here and what he's after. Is it really so easy that he just came across us? He's dangerous and he will be our undoing if we continue to have him here."
Lancaster Dodd: "If we are not helping him then it is we who are failed to him."
Mary Sue Dodd: "Perhaps he is past help or insane."
Mary Sue Dodd seems like the perfect supportive wife. She's drinking the Kool-Aid Lancaster is feeding her and turns into a mama grizzly when Freddie tries to take down The Cause.
Basis of a Cult
Party guest: "Good science by definition allows for more than one opinion. Otherwise, you merely have the will of one man which is the basis of cult."
Technically, this guy does have a point. What Dodd and company are creating is a cult, not that they want to admit that.
What Happened?
Military doctor: "Are you mixed up?"
Freddie Quell: "No, sir"
Military doctor: "Are you more jumpy than you were before?"
Freddie Quell: "No, sir"
Military doctor: "And how's your sleeping?"
Freddie Quell: "I sleep just fine, sir"
Military doctor: "When you sleep do you have nightmares?"
Freddie Quell: "Not as much as before"
Military doctor: "You've had violent episodes..."
Freddie Quell: "Yes, sir, we all did."
Military doctor: "You pulled a knife to the throat of an officer."
Freddie Quell: [Laughs] "We boxed it out."
Military doctor: "How would you, yourself, rank your overall health?"
Freddie Quell: "Strong"
Military doctor: "And what about this last episode on the way home?"
Freddie Quell: "What episode, sir?"
Military doctor: "The episode you had on the way home, here"
Freddie Quell: "I don't... I don't remember an episode."
Military doctor: "You have no memory of what happened?"
Freddie Quell: "We were celebrating. I remember drinking and dancing but I don't remember an episode. Was there a fight? What happened?"
Military doctor: "Let's just see if we can't help you remember what happened."
Freddie Quell: [Laughs] "Okay"
After a night full of a bit too much booze and some violent behavior, Freddie Quell has to speak with a military doctor about his actions. It would help however if Freddie actually remembered what happened the night before.
She Wrote Me A Letter
Freddie Quell: "You see Doris and we walk. She wrote me a letter. No one else wrote me a letter. She wrote me a letter. She just looks at me."
Trying to cope with life back in the states plus the post-traumatic stress from war, Freddie becomes increasingly attached to a young woman, Doris.
I Lost My Ship
Freddie Quell: "I lost my... I lost my ship."
Sailor: "Nice going"
Freddie Quell: "Yeah, so what do I do?"
Sailor: "Go down to pier 39."
Still in the military, Freddie Quell is already lost. This foreshadowing of what is to come in his life is just a taste of how lost he actually gets later on."
A Hopelessly Inquisitive Man
Freddie Quell: "How'd I get down here?"
Lancaster Dodd: "You were acting aggressive because you drank too much alcohol... Why all the stalking and sneaking? You've wandered from the proper path, haven't you? The problems you have..."
Freddie Quell: "I don't have any problems. I don't know what I told you but if you have work for me to do I can do it."
Lancaster Dodd: "You seem so familiar to me."
Freddie Quell: "What... What do you do?"
Lancaster Dodd: "I am a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher, but above all I am a man, a hopelessly inquisitive man just like you."
Taking the drifter Freddie Quell under his wing, Lancaster Dodd tries to relate to Freddie by explaining that they are not that different. Freddie takes the bait, hook, line and sinker.
A Post-War World
Military official: "There will be people on the outside who will not understand the condition you men have. Now upon your shoulders rests the possibility of a post-war world. You can start a business, filling station, grocery or hardware store, get a few acres of land and raise some chickens. If the average civilian have been through the same stresses that you have been through, undoubtably they too would have developed the same nervous conditions."
Along with a group of soldiers, Freddie Quell gets guidance from a military official after returning from World War II. The official makes it seem like the "condition" is something small and that the opportunities for a normal life are endless but Freddie learns first hand that it's not that rosy.
The Only Way to Defend Ourselves
Mary Sue Dodd: "And this is where we are at, to have to explain ourselves? For what? The only way to defend ourselves is to attack."
Distraught by those looking to break up their religious movement, Mary Sue Dodd realizes that she cannot simply sit back with her beliefs, that the only move is to attack those going against them.
Always Good, Always Helpful
Lancaster Dodd: "To allow, to allow, to get over, to accept that when you're in processing that what comes to you is always right. Always right, always good, always helpful, it will always lead you toward the pain."
Preaching again to his small congregation, Lancaster Dodd urges his followers to accept his guidance without hesitation or question as he is surely leading them to always good things.
Discovered a Secret
Lancaster Dodd: "Man is not an animal. We are not a part of the animal kingdom. We sit far above that crown, perched as animals, not beasts. I have unlocked and discovered a secret to living in these bodies that we hold."
Preaching to potential recruits, Lancaster Dodd shares some vague yet promising information about The Cause, a religious movement he founded. The catch of The Cause however is that you have to join before he'll reveal all the secrets.