The Master
JokersawJoaquin Phoenixwin the Academy Award for Best Actor , but his finest functioning can actually be seen in a dissimilar movie . Joker , directed and co - written by Todd Phillips , provides an origin story for the most democratic of Batman ’s adversaries . While the film owe much of the character ’s machination to the DC source cloth , Phoenix give a memorable portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime .
Phoenix ’s depicting is especially impressive in managing to escape the dark of Heath Ledger ’s delineate performance as Joker inThe Dark Knight . ThoughJokeris a divisive film , Phoenix ’s playacting is a singular aspect . He crystallise the character ’s changeover from Arthur Fleck , a alone goof - for - hire who dreams of becoming a comedian , to Joker , the fierce face of an anti - capitalist revolution .
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Even best than his lead role inJoker , however , is Phoenix ’s compelling turn as Freddie Quell , an changeable Naval veteran , in Paul Thomas Anderson’sThe Master . The film gives an eerie commentary on the new system of organized religion in postwar America without at once criticizing them . ineffectual to adjust to life sentence in peacetime , Phoenix ’s Freddie is a frequently erratic figure . He becomes a subject of“the Cause,”a bowel movement championing irregular and ghostlike method acting of healing , after assemble its“Master,”Lancaster Dodd ( Philip Seymour Hoffman ) . The movie is interested in the comparability of and intimacy between Freddie and Lancaster . The pair share a predilection for inebriation , be it by Freddie ’s moonshine or Lancaster ’s didactic elocution .
Paul Thomas Andersonnotes the significance of Phoenix ’s execution in providing depth to the character of Freddie . In conversation with film critic Mark Kermode ( viaBBC Radio 5 Live ) , Anderson admits that he had intended to film some traumatic warfare shot for contextualization but explains:“I call back the first day of shooting , taking one expression at his face and cerebration , you do n’t involve to shoot anything . ”Phoenix ’s deeply expressive portrayal of Freddie see the actor at his absolute best , perfectly embodying the pain and purposelessness that Freddie experiences following his time in the warfare .
Phoenix provides the depth and gravitational attraction essential for anorigin floor in Joker , but his performance as Freddie Quell inThe Masteris even more remindful . He cunningly portrays the item and nuances of an intricate character without the scenes of Freddie ’s past times visually award to the audience . While set and context were ask as part ofJoker ’s story structure , The MasterwitnessesJoaquin Phoenixflourishing in a role where he is pass on considerable performative license .
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