Suddenly finding himself inebriated and on a cruise ship after fleeing yet another dead-end job, Freddie discovers his rudder in the avuncular, preening form of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). A self-styled master of a small yet slowly growing movement he calls The Cause, Lancaster promises to give Freddie a meaningful line of work, if only he’ll continue to churn out his peculiarly intoxicating brand of hooch. Lancaster has charisma, but not necessarily all the power in this particular relationship. Instead, he uses his showmanship to guide his burgeoning congregation ever upward, and if he’s the Master, then Freddie – simple minded, unpredictable, yet loyal – is his attack dog. When a dissenting voice dares to criticise Lancaster’s claims to be able to cure disease and travel through time during a gathering of New York’s wealthy elite, Freddie responds by beating him to a pulp. Although The Master’s chronicles the early days of an American movement (controversially inspired by L Ron Hubbard’s founding of Scientology), it is also a romance. It’s about the unrequited love between Freddie, a man in touch with his animal side as no other member of the Cause’s congregation is, and the supposedly cerebral Lancaster. As Freddie drifts in and out of the Cause’s orbit, we gradually realise that Lancaster’s becoming quietly obsessed with his “protégé and guinea pig”, and their simmering relationship is laced with a faint air of tragedy. It’s a brilliantly acted film, but then, you’d expect that from Paul Thomas Anderson. Hoffman’s great as the self-described “writer, nuclear physicist, philosopher, inquisitive man” who also happens to be a huckster and a buffoon. Phoenix is even better, submerging himself so utterly into Freddie, a simple man whose service in WWII has left him a hunched, frail and wounded husk. Hollywood actors love to make themselves ugly, to leave their beauty and charisma behind to create screen personas like Aileen Wuornos or Jake LaMotta. Phoenix does just this, without recourse to make-up, wigs, or the extreme gain or loss of weight. Through a shift in syntax, accent and posture, he absolutely becomes this character, and his commitment and consistency is often astonishing.  Yet in spite of all this committed, outstanding work, it has to be said there isn’t a performance in this film that’s as singularly captivating as Daniel Day Lewis’ turn as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. That movie’s long, hard look at the foundations of the oil industry, and the collusion of the church in its inception, was carried by Lewis’ extraordinary performance, which utterly captivated even when the film was at its more laborious.  Anderson takes a similarly long time to relate his character arcs and make his points in The Master, but without a character like Lewis’ Plainview to provide a lynchpin, it’s less effective. Admittedly, The Master is a two-handed effort, whereas There Will Be Blood was entirely carried by Lewis (albeit with a little help from Paul Dano’s weasel of a minister). But while Phoenix and Hoffman work themselves to the bone in their roles, Anderson’s writing can’t quite bring them to life as effectively as the anti-hero of his 2007 movie.  There are still moments to cherish in The Master, and those who love Anderson’s knack of creating tension in a scene in oblique, unusual ways will also adore his finer bits here. The cinematography and editing are top-notch, as is Jonny Greenwood’s music. But the movie feels less satisfying as a whole than There Will Be Blood, or Boogie Nights, or Magnolia.  Why is this? Maybe it’s because the subject matter isn’t quite as engrossing as his previous films. Maybe it’s because Anderson’s so interested in ambiguity that he leaves little of substance for us to grab onto. Or maybe it’s because the dialogue, although good, doesn’t have the hooks of those other films (there’s no milkshake analogue here). There Will Be Blood was about compelling bastards. The Master is too, but this time, it’s sad to say, the bastards are less compelling. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.