My threshold for crazy is pretty high up. It takes chicken drumstick fellatio or telepathic sex with Nicole Kidman's ripped stockings in her panties area to disturb me. But damn if Ryan Murphy didn't come close to those levels in the last three episodes of American Horror Story. But what's even more astonishing is that for the first time in the history of the series he made an episode that was such a baffling mess, I understood maybe 50% of it. But before we get to dissect Continuum, let's start with The Name Game.That episode was filled with the moments when I thought "Really, Ryan Murphy?". While it did have plenty of great moments including the scenes where we see the bond between Lana and Kit and all of sister Mary Eunice's scene's it had the biggest WTF in the series so far - the musical number with dancing and singing Sister Jude. Now, the other show that is Ryan Murphy's brainchild is Glee. But if I wanted to watch fucking Glee, I'd watch fucking Glee.
Sadly, Ryan Murphy is really derailing his own shown with the amount of story lines - either go with aliens or with the demons. Well, he actually finally made the choice but it was laughable - after Sister Mary Eunice climbed on top of Monsignor and rode him (Hey, it's Joseph Fiennes so who can blame her?) he, being told by the Angel of Death that Sister Mary is possessed by Satan and he has to kill her, throws her from the top of the stairs. That's it. That is what it takes to kill Satan. Really, Ryan Murphy?One of my biggest problems with the series have always been how quickly major characters exited the series. There was always no fuss over people dying here - we see someone die or hear about their demise and that is it. I'm really bothered about it this season because it had even stronger characters than last and such unceremonious deaths of fan favorites really suck and damage the show. Killing off two most awesome characters in the season - Dr Arden and sister Mary Eunice 3 episodes prior to finale was a HUGE mistake. Sure, the scene where Arden burns alive with Mary's corpse was poetic and strangely beautiful but still - it was way too soon and way too easy way out.
Oh and what's that readers? You wonder what's up with the mutants Arden created aka Raspers? Well, let me tell you - he shot them all in their heads and they are as dead as is this story arc. What's that? You want to ask "Really, Ryan Murphy?" too?
Thankfully, other for occasional horrible writing and disappointing resolutions to major story arcs, the episode had many strong points and I appreciated the fact Joseph Fiennes finally had something to do. But the series really picked up the pace in the next episode entitled Spilt Milk - it was easily one of the strongest episodes so far. Before I tell you why, let's mention the lamest story arc - the one with the Grace and aliens - Grace gave birth to her child, which was delivered by...wait for it....Zachary Quinto's fucked up psychopath. Anyways, since he has such mommy issues he is all crazy about the baby and apparently being dead and brought back with a kid means that someone is sane now because Grace gets released out of Asylum.When her, Kit and their space offspring arrive home there is a surprise - Alma is there, with another space child. So Ryan Murphy spends 13 (!) minutes of the latest episode Continuum showing us some new age Mormon shit with Grace, Kit, Alma and their kids living together. I'm assuming Kit is banging both of his partners, but none of this is addressed because the whole point of it was to show us that Alma is scared that Grace will summon the aliens and she kills her with the axe. She gets committed to Briarcliff and she dies there, making Kit a single parent. Really, Ryan Murphy? 13 minutes on this shit? And please, give Evan Peters some pants. He is about 5-10 years too young for my taste.
Thank God for Lana. Now that I got boring stuff out of the way, I can focus on the show's most interesting character. In Spilt Milk Lana finally gets out of Briarcliff in a very cool scene inspired by Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill which ends with her showing Threadson the tape with his confession and flipping him the bird, while she is in the cab. Lana has been through hell and in this episode she finally triumphs - she kills Threadson, buries Wendy and starts working on her book. She also wants to abort her baby (again) but changes her mind, feeling like too much blood was spilt already.Now before I mention the ending, let's talk about the opening where we see Lana's grown son Johnny, or Modern Bloody Face if you will. Johnny, played by Dylan McDermott welcomes a hooker who just had a baby. She is lactating and he sucks her milk. Yes, I typed it. Yes, that shit happened. I mean seriously. It happened. In the ending that scene is mirrored when the nurse brings crying baby Johnny to Lana who yells she doesn't want to see him. Nurse explains that he won't stop crying and Lana, while suffering and feeling disgust feeds the baby.
This whole situation right there is more interesting than everything else in the season. I can't blame Lana for not wanting the child whose father killed the woman she loved and was a monster who killed people and raped her. On the other hand it's not the child's fault. I think Lana is to blame for having the baby. If she aborted him she would spare him the lifetime of problems, suffering and pain. No wonder he grew up to be a monster - but I don't believe it's because of who his father was, it is because his own mother wanted to kill him twice and then abandoned him. If he kills Lana in the finale I must say it will be some form of justice.In the episode Continuum we see that Lana tweaked the truth - she wrote about things that never happened when she was tormented by Bloody Face. She also didn't reveal that she was a lesbian and Wendy was her lover. During the book reading she sees the ghosts of Wendy and Threadson accusing her of lying. Lana is treated like a hero and it's clear that she only wants to enjoy the life from now on. Who can blame her? But Kit meets with her and asks her about the promise she gave Jude - that she will shut down Briarcliff.
Ah Jude. Lana attempted to free her but Monsignor told her she was dead. But Jude is very much alive and very confused - and we are confused too. I have no idea what the fuck was going on with that story arc in last episode. For some reason Jude started hallucinating that her cellmate is the Angel of Death and a lesbian. I'm suspecting the fact she was a lesbian is just Ryan Murphy's obsessive need to include as many gay characters as he can, never mind if any of this has a purpose.Anyways Kit sees her and tells Lana about it, so I suspect Lana will finally move her ass and does something in the finale. The episode which was all over the place and clearly a failed experiment was rescued by the last few minutes. I do not understand why so many people whine about Dylan McDermott. I think he is fantastic, especially in the season 2. In the chilling ending he walked into a bookstore and asked the owner for the first edition of Lana's book. She didn't want him to have it, so he told her who he was and what he plans to do - and all he wants is to finally meet his mother and kill her. She gives him the book, which was pretty smart of her because honestly, I mean what else would you do in that situation?
Let's just hope this year's finale is better than last. I'm hoping for a big twist, but hopefully not the one from Shutter Island.
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I remember the day my beloved hamster died. It was terrible - he was my first pet, well, excluding the fishes in aquarium, and though I couldn't walk him and I almost never let him out of his cage, I really loved him. I cried for days. Now I have a beautiful Yorkie, my first dog ever. He is one year old, I've known him for 10 months and I love him so much - he wiggles his tail and jumps whenever I get back home, he wakes me up in the morning and he brings toys and drops them next to me when he wants to play. He is my friend.
One tragic day, during baseball game, Victor hits the ball with the bat and the ball falls on the street. Sparky wants to bring the ball back to his friend. When he is running back...the car hits him and Sparky dies. Victor is devastated. Then one day, his science teacher shows the class the power of electricity - he is able to animate the corpse of a frog, by hooking it up to electric source. Victor, science whizz, gets an idea. He dags Sparky up, he repeats the process his teacher showed and then...a miracle happens. Sparky is alive again!
Frankenweenie is a remake of Tim Burton's own short film of the same title, which was made and released 28 years ago. It is also the first good movie Burton made since, what? Sweeney Todd? Tim Burton never screwed up stop-motion movie so I was suspecting that this may be good. Especially since with the story like that, with so much heart in it, even if the director loses his way, it will still be all right in the end. While the film is far from perfect, it is all you would like to see in Tim Burton's movie - old Burton, I mean.
In fact there are tons of those little nods in this movie - every single horror fan out there - and by "horror" I mean the old school, artistic and genuinely beautiful horror film classics - will have so much fun noticing all of those great little references, visual similarities and good-natured, loving spoofs. All of that is accompanied by Burton's favorite composer Danny Elfman, who delivers his best work in years in this movie - cute, a little spooky and memorable - just like the film itself.
Unfortunately, not everything works equally effectively here - while everything we see is really quite clever and adorable, some parts just aren't as interesting as another. In the latter part of the movie, Frankenweenie switches from the tale of friendship to a huge stop-motion homage to old monster flicks. While all the references we see there are quite fun, I'd much rather see more of Sparky and Victor and Sparky's romance with Persephone - this is definitely one the cutest love stories I've seen all year.
The fact the movie slows down so much in the latter half and especially in the scenes with "villains" - Victor's ignorant class mates - is pretty much the only problem I had with the movie, but since it was under 90 minutes long the fact I was bored is a pretty huge deal. On the other hand, the finale of the movie is fantastic - it's filled with excitement and anticipation and I kept hoping that Sparky and Victor will be all right and they both get the girls. The very last moments are so lovely and heartwarming I cried again. My make up was completely gone by the end of this movie.
Sparky's movements are especially realistic. He does all the things real dogs do - scratching himself behind the ear, standing on two paws and begging for food when the family is having dinner, sniffing everything around him. Though Sparky looks so grotesque, you never forget that this is the man's best friend. I really loved the little touch of adding few stitches after he is brought back to life and Sparky being shocked when he looks into mirror. Another brilliant reference.
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And when you are one of the characters in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina - you probably should. But apart from ridiculous tagline "You cannot ask 'why' about love" the actual movie has many more - and much more serious - problems. I generally like Joe Wright's films - in fact he made only one movie I despise - The Soloist. His Atonement and Hanna were in my top 15 of the respective years they were released in and I thought his Pride and Prejudice was very skillful and heartfelt adaptation of the famous novel. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about his Anna Karenina.
For me the adaptation is successful if it's stand alone work of art which doesn't require the viewer to read the source novel and still manages to capture its spirit. Anna Karenina fails on both territories - while I'm sure Wright read the novel, the way he handled this movie suggests otherwise. Both him, his leading lady and the composer Dario Marianelli's efforts look - and sound - like they completely missed the meaning of the tragic love story - the way certain scenes are handled make it all look like it was an insignificant, comic farce andMarianellli's much too light music certainly doesn't help here.
The love between the two was supposed to be a bond between a woman who after years of loveless marriage discovers passion that burns, attracts and ultimately consumes her. I don't know who to blame here - the writers, the director or Knightley - but the fact is, that instead of mature woman, wife and mother the way Anna is portrayed here I felt as if I was watching silly teenager who wants to leave her boring life and just party with her boy toy. That's not what the novel was about. That's fucking Gossip Girl.
Anna Karenina is such a mess even its assets add to movie being flawed - Jude Law gives us very good performance as Karenin, in fact the most sympathetic Karenin from the four adaptations I've seen. But ironically, it only makes Anna more despicable. She comes off as spoiled, selfish brat in this and in the end you may actually find yourself rooting for Karenin. There is one particularly ridiculous scene where Anna tells Karenin who intends to sleep with her that she can't because she loves Vronsky. I actually give the man credit for not throwing her cheating ass out of the house right there and then. Congratulations, Joe Wright except perhaps you should have entitled that "Karenin" instead since the audience roots for him?
The parallel story to that of Anna's is the one of Levin - apparently that's where Wright loses those who never read the novel. It's perfectly understandable as it is clumsily handled here and the metaphor - that the honest living and focusing on those things which matter and not on luxury will bring you happiness - still works, but none of the two stories that are supposed to lead you to that conclusion do. The biggest problem here is that Levin is played by Domhnal Gleeson who has no charisma at all. And his love interest Kitty is played by Alicia Vikander who finds her way to play her character only half way through their story.
Before I write about what was the fatal flaw in this film, I'm gonna focus on few more positives - the film is made in a very unique way and it's never a bad thing, even if the film itself is so mediocre. It takes place on gigantic stage or should I say several connected stages - actors move from one to another and though it may sound weird, it actually looks like pretty ordinary movie inside the rooms, as they differ in set design and it all feels normal other than for transitions. This is where it gets impressive because many times there aren't any traditional cuts - the actor just moves to different stage and suddenly he is in a whole new place.
I suppose those few who gave the film high praise were dazzled by the film's visual beauty which attempted to hide how hollow the film is. The film does look very beautiful - the costumes, the set design, it's all gorgeous. But I was never the sort of the person who could forget about how hollow the movie is in terms of emotions if it looked pretty. While I won't argue with the Academy for nominating the film in 4 technical categories (apart from the score which was a serious misfire), it still doesn't change the fact that watching Anna Karenina was like staring at the beautiful dollhouse for 2 hours.
Now let's mention the worst part of the film which is its ridiculous ending- in the last 10 minutes Wright made so many mistakes I truly think Tolstoy is rolling in his grave. After the conclusion to Anna's fate - which had potential to be one of the film's most memorable moments and was completely butchered and deprived of its horror and brutality - we only see a GLIMPSE of Vronsky. The crucial scene in the train between Vronsky and Levin is nowhere to be found. Wright has completely butchered the story.
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Track: Over Hill
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Madness Ends marks the conclusion to American Horror Story season 2. Very cinematic and at times moving finale was infinitely better than the one we got last year. We began as Johnny, modern day Bloody Face and Lana and Thredson's son walks around the Asylum where his parents met. We also got another look at the opening of the season when two unlucky newlyweds met Bloody Face.
In reality it was Kit who rescued Jude and brought her home with him. Jude recovered a little from the horrors she endured in Briarcliff - with the help of Kit's kids who took her to the woods were Aliens, presumably, helped her. Jude passed away after few months when she finally accepted the kiss of death from the angel. The whole conclusion to the aliens storyline was as unimpressive as this whole story arc - the kids grew up to be a doctor and a lawyer. What? That's it?
All this time would have been better spent on developing Arden's storyline a bit more - the whole Raspers plot really went nowhere and nothing bigger came out of it, unless you count Monsignor's suicide in the finale. This could have been easily connected with Satan if they only made the possession thing last longer and perhaps Satan would be in Monsignor now. This could have led to much better conclusion than the one we got for Arden, Monsignor and Sister Mary Eunice. But I do have to mention one absolutely golden moment involving Monsignor from the finale - Lana and the camera crew are chasing him in the parking lot asking all sorts of questions and he gets in the car and shouts "Happy Easter!". That was fucking hilarious.
But the finale was as good as it could have been. It didn't leave many loose ends and the scenes with Kit and Jude were very moving - I adored the music used in their scenes and I still don't know what it was, which bugs me as it was a great choice of track to play in the background. I also like how Kit and Lana remained friends and that he found happiness in the end and became a very decent and compassionate man.
The finale added so much to her character - I was very impressed by how clever and calculating she was. At one point of the interview we see that Johnny is there and he obviously intends to kill her. Lana then tells a story of suffering remorse after she gave her child up - at first you may think she says that because it was true but as much as maybe she did suffer remorse I doubt she lost sleep over it. She went back (looking more like Lana Del Rey than ever) and found Johnny and even met him, not telling him who she was.
I really loved how the conclusion of the finale was handled - while I did feel bad for Johnny who was destined to have a horrible life and it would have been much better if Lana never gave birth to him, I can't really hate Lana for what she did. He killed and skinned women so I don't think compassion is the emotion we should have towards him. And just like with his father Lana wanted him dead and didn't hesitate to serve the justice herself.
All that evil Lana saw left a mark on her - after all she was willing to look her own child right in the eye and pull the trigger. She clearly lost a lot of conscience through all of that and that evil took a big part of her innocence. She became cold, driven and yes, much, much stronger in the process. I really doubt if Murphy will ever be able to create such a great protagonist again. Sarah Paulson deserves all the possible awards for her performance here - as much as James Cromwell and Lily Rabe were the scene stealers of the season, she was really continuously amazing and became a true anchor of the second season never making her character into one dimensional caricature.
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It would be hard for me to find a movie that was released recently that collapses on its ass as spectacularly as Mama does. The film is actually quite decent in its first hour, but its last 30 minutes are so incredibly fucking stupid you feel as if you were watching an exclusive glimpse into Tim Burton's mind if he was imagining what Corpse Bride would be like as a horror feature film...and then as if his visions crossed to Guillermo Del Toro being high during mother's day. It's fucking crazy and not in a good way.
5 years later we see that crazy dad's twin brother - Lucas (Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) never stopped searching for his brother and the girls. He even took their dog to live with him (Mama scores some points from me because nothing bad happens to the dog, so imagine how low the score would be if the dog died). Lucas has a girlfriend - Annabel (Jessica Chastain, in yet another thankless role). One day he gets a call - the girls were found.
The film starts off like your usual horror flick - there is some drama, freaky cabin and the promise of terrible CGI later on. Then we have pretty decent music playing over the opening credits - which consists, of course, of children drawings showing us how Lilly and Victoria survived in the woods. At first it was really good - Lucas and Annabel's efforts to help the girls were touching and the bond between the sisters was adorable (the way Lilly clung to Victoria all the time).
The little girls were actually the ones who delivers the best work in the movie - especially Megan Charpentier as Victoria. The scenes between her and Anabel were quite moving and I also loved the scene where Anabel hugged Lilly until she calmed down. Too bad the ending kinda ruins the entire dynamic between these two and is yet another thing that reminds you of how poorly this movie is written.
The way Mama's monster looks is just laughable. At first it's creepy because we only see glimpses of her. But when we finally see all of her, even in quick moments - I don't think this can scare anyone. It's not even that the design is uninspired, it's that the CGI is so incredibly fucking terrible it looks like something you would make on your home computer. Mama is actually played by the real actor - Javier Botet - who delivered extremely creepy horror moment in REC. The problem is that they added so much bad CGI on him here and it looks like cartoon. And then of course there are distorted movements, Exorcist-style. Why are all the movie ghosts nowadays disfigured and moving like robo-spiders? Is this supposed to be scary?
The film could have been really good - just because it is based on 3-minute long short film Del Toro loved and decided to produce feature film based on doesn't mean that the story had to suck. They had everything in place here and really all they had to do was come up with a good back story for Mama and they couldn't even do that. The script was written by 3 (!) writers including the director of the short and the feature film - Andrés Muschietti. It's baffling - for him himself to come up with such a ridiculous story that basically ruins two of his projects at the same time and for the other two not to do anything about it. Still even with such scattered mess of a script what really buries this movie is the horrible CGI.
Plot: The film is a remake of Korean thriller Addicted from 2002. Jess's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) life turns surreal after an automobile accident leaves both her husband Ryan and her brother-in-law Roman (Lee Pace) in a coma. Things take an even darker turn when Roman wakes believing that he is Ryan. As Jess tries to deal with these increasingly disturbing events, she also struggles with the possibility that either the spirit of her husband has returned to her or that something very sinister is at work. 
What makes it so great?The film was set to be a theatrical release, but due to studio's bankruptcy (Nothing But the Truth kind of scenario which still hurts me as it hurt Vera Farmiga's Oscar chances) it was straight-to-DVD release. Mind that, the film is beautifully shot and the score is gorgeous. The story is predictable and could have been stronger but the atmosphere is still quite effective. Though I may be one of the 10 people on Earth who don't like Buffy, Gellar did a fine job here, though I wish they cast someone more subtle and delicate for the role.
Morbid Trivia: As Lee Pace's fan the morbid trivia for me is that this, just like the Resident, ended up being straight-to-DVD flick.
- 1/5 bloody Leatherfaces - there is some bloody here and there, mostly after the accident but overall this is more of a psychological thriller. 
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Famke Janssen returns as Larry's ex girlfriend causing havoc in his relationship with Ally. Meanwhile John's girlfriend - Melanie (Anne Heche) is fired from the school she works in because she scares the children. She has Tourette syndrome and her ticks trigger John's ticks and screams which is hilarious. The opposite counsel is perpetually uncomfortable lawyer who represents school's headmaster. At one point of the episode John is actually telling a story to the kids which is one of the funniest scenes during his relationship with Melanie story arc
In this episode Nelle, John and Richard defend law firm which prioritizes hiring male associates because women get pregnant which interferes with their ability to do the work. During the case Nelle reveals to Richard and John that she never wants to have kids and they are both shocked as they thought all women want to have children. Meanwhile Ling, after being asked by Ally, helps Elaine who lost her dance partner in a dance competition. The highlight of the episode is Richard cross examining feminist sociologist and telling her she in part looks like a man to Nelle, Richard and Judge Whipper's horror. The episode also has a beautiful ending in which we find out Nelle's parents divorced. She plays tough in front of John, telling him she had a great childhood, two rooms, two teddy bears - more than most kids. The last scene however is Nelle looking at the two teddy bears and crying. 
Ling and Richard defend Cindy (House MD's Lisa Edelstein) - a woman...who is really a man. She is beautiful and Ling and Richard thought she really was a woman but in reality she still has a penis. She doesn't want to be subjected to physical examination in her work place to prevent everyone from discovering her secret. Richard obviously walks in the court talking about Constitution to opposing counsel's delight (Your honor, from my experience the more you understand what Mr. Fish is saying the better my chances) but Ling is there and they end up winning the case. Mark, not aware of the fact Cindy is really a man, is attracted to her and Richard is horrified but Ling keeps reminding him he can't say anything. John and Nelle defend a woman (Marcia Cross) who was sued by her former employee - he quit the job claiming after they slept with each other the environment at work became hostile. John is attracted to her which results in few great moments when he stutters in the court - When a woman like that sexually propositions a man like me..uh.uh....him!". John also delivers one of his best closings in this episode where he talks about double standard when it comes to sexually forward men and women.
After Nelle broke up with John when he was stuck in an elevator few episodes back, things are tense between them. John calls her rich, bitch elitist ice queen and says things like "it's a miracle I didn't lose my penis to frost bite". Ally tells him those remarks are illegal but John is so upset he just screams "Balls the law!". Nelle says she wants to be a partner to John's outrage and Richard's reluctance. Meanwhile Ally meets with her Internet date with whom she had cybersex - to her shock it turns out that the guy is not 30 years old but he is in fact sixteen and she gets arrested under the charges of statutory rape. Renee, John and Richard defend her in yet another hilarious trail. Holland Taylor guest stars as the judge assigned to the case, in yet another nod to The Practice. 
This is one of the finest episodes of the show and probably one of the major reasons why out of all the seasons it's the second season that emerged victorious at Emmys, winning best comedy series. There are two major arcs here - the first one deals with Eric, little boy dying of leukemia (Haley Joel Osment) who tells Ally he wants to sue God. Ling overhears it and encourages the boy to sue. Nelle reveals to everyone that Ling is actually lawyer herself (Ling later says that she doesn't practice because it causes wrinkles). Ally asks her to help the boy and they manage to persuade his church to pay for his treatment. Unfortunately it's too late and Eric dies. Ling plays strong in front of Ally but later she runs out of hospital and cries, proving once again she is human after all. The second arc is Richard and John defending a man who shot at his wife and his friend after he caught them in bed together. Richard is doing his usual thing saying all the wrong things (Surely you can understand how this jury would like to see Rodney and Sheila dead) and it's one of the funniest trials in the series.
In this episode the most dreaded day in Ally's life happens - it's her 30th birthday. She is obviously having huge trouble adjusting to the idea and even gets collagen injection in her lips which gets her off the case as she looks terrible and she is only third chair - Mark and John are defending young woman who was accused of suffocating her 90-year old man husband with her breasts. We get to hear one of John's excellent closing arguments in this episode and also we get to see one of the loveliest moments in the show - when John overcomes his shyness and gets on stage to sing a song for his best friend - Ally. 
One of the funniest cases in the series are those involving Ling. Here a conservative group is protesting her mud wrestling club. They are being represented by Georgia's old friend - Ray (Justin Theraux). Georgia sets him up on a date with Ally and of course something goes wrong. Elaine creates a new toilet remote for John and as he walks in, presses the button, the sit goes up, Ally falls in it and...gets stuck in the toilet. Meanwhile Richard and John investigate and go check out the wrestling club. As for the case Ling is represented by Ally, Georgia and Nelle and as usual she says outrageous - but mostly accurate - things on the stand while being vicious and brutally honest (-Have you bothered to look into why these women work in this club? - It would be hypocritical for me to ask, it would suggest I care). Nelle has a problem with women being perceived as sex object so...she asks Richard to deliver the closing. And what a closing it is.
I don't know what happened to Paul Thomas Anderson. He is a great director, bot sometime after Magnolia a certain shift occurred. I divide his movies into two groups - one that has great, entertaining films with clear story and wonderful acting and other that is somewhat experimental and, well, only the words "great acting" remain when I describe it. I greatly enjoyed Boogie Nights and Magnolia. I cannot say the same for Punch Drunk Love, There Will be Blood and The Master.
As with There will be Blood the protagonist of The Master is a lost soul. While there is something interesting about Freddie Quell in the beginning, as the film kept progressing I was slowly losing interest in his journey. The movie doesn't really dwell into the roots of Freddie's problems. We are given bits and pieces of his story but it's never enough to fully explain - or even begin to explain - his actions, his behaviour and his issues. In the effect not only we don't see the root of his problems, we don't even get to see the resolution. And why on Earth we should care about any of that then?
Do we get to see any redeeming qualities in Freddie? Not really. He is sorta turned into Dodd's right hand, The Master's pitbull who defends The Cause quite simply because he sees friend in Dodd and well, he has nothing better to do. I just cannot believe that Anderson made this character into his protagonist. If what Freddie went through would add to something or at least provided some memorable conclusion to the film I would be fine with this, but the way things play out in the movie it's just completely useless. Anderson himself doesn't seem to have a handle on his own story, as the last image of the movie was chosen...because "he liked it". The way things play out it looks like Freddie's journey brought no change, no meaning. Just nothing.
The Cause was modeled after Scientology. To be completely honest I don't see it. Yes, there are some similarities in methods but the way The Cause works actually makes it look like a helpful movement. As for Scientology - well that is a dangerous cult. These people are delusional - I don't have much regard for many religious movements, but I respect even outlandish beliefs if they don't exploit the followers and actually bring them hope. Scientology is a menace - I'll call every religion that requires women not to scream during giving birth an insane and disturbing cult and that is exactly what it is..
Well, whatever happened there, Lancaster Dodd is most certainly based on L. Ron Hubbard, infamous founder of Scientology. They share many similarities - they both spread their preaching through books, both had many children and many wives, ex-wives eventually turning into their critics and enemies. The sons of both think they are frauds (something which apparently Tom Cruise hated in the movie, even though it's an actual fact in relation to Hubbard, ding ding ding!). Thankfully the film takes us 60 years back in time. The Master isn't about the current state of Scientology. instead, it takes its lead from the ideas expressed in Hubbard's 1950 book Dianetics. Anderson himself says - "The ideas in Dianetics are fucking beautiful. The idea of recalling past lives is so hopeful, so optimistic, and it's something I would love to go along with". The problem is that it's not really explored in the movie. The subject is brought up but it has no relevance to Freddie, Lancaster or Peggy. 
As good as Joaquin Phoenix was in this role, I just found it all to be hallow. Freddie's journey is completely meaningless - in the end of the movie he is exactly the same person he was before, maybe with a little of self control, but the last shot - which is repeated form the film's opening - suggests that he stayed the same. What was the point of the movie then? Why spent so much time on a character who is standing still? Of course there are those who argue that people never really change and I have no problems with characters who don't either. But what is the message here? What is the meaning? Why bother with the story of this man?
I'm giving the film a high grade because it's truly commendable what actors managed to do with such nonexistent character development.The main trio did what they can and if the film was a little bit better perhaps all three would get wins from me. Phoenix was amazing and quite frankly that script didn't deserve such visceral and brave work. However, I must say I was more impressed with Hoffman and Adams, perhaps because their characters were infinitely more interesting than Freddie.
It's a damn shame Anderson wasted the character of Peggy. She is however in the key scene of the film, a scene which I cannot believe some called "unnecessary". If you think that scene is "unnecessary" I must tell you this - you missed the nature of character dynamics and perhaps even the point of the film. After Peggy senses her husband wants to take a lover, she uses sex to manipulate him into giving up the idea. She is revealed as the true Master here, prepared to do what she needs to keep Dodd in line and The Cause safe and strong.
I am a bit annoyed when I think how much better the film could have been had it focused on the couple and just moved Freddie to background. I would love to see more of the scenes where Peggy is plotting about what to do to make The Cause stronger. There are even great ideas in place, when in the last meeting between Dodd and Freddie Peggy is sitting on something that even resembles a throne. She is the one who controls the meeting and it's clear she already pointed Dodd in the right direction before Freddie even walked through the door.
Anderson is not much of a writer, but he is a fantastic director. The film is wonderfully directed and the cinematography is beautiful - it definitely has its own, unique ambiance. Johnny Greenwood's score goes well with the film and helps to establish the mysterious, slightly unnerving feel of the story. It definitely looks and sounds great, but it's one of those movies that remind you that while everything else can be perfect you really can't go far with weak or nonexistent story.
Just like with Life of Pi this is a movie where any efforts to find answers are futile. In Life of Pi it's kinda obvious what happened and what is the purpose of the other story in the film. In The Master the script is so incomplete and devoid of any higher meaning you really shouldn't waste your time on figuring out things. Is this a romance story between two men? Is it father and son dynamics? A man and an animal? Well, to be honest - I quite simply don't care.
In the week that will most likely end with Anne Hathaway winning undeserved Oscar for Les Mis, I'm reminded of female performance in musical that was actually snubbed by the dearest Academy - Helena Bonham Carter's splendid work as Mrs. Lovett in Tim Burton's last great picture - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Though both Johnny Depp and Carter were nominated for Golden Globes that year, it was only Depp who won the Globe and received Academy Award nomination. Furthermore Carter was snubbed by both SAG and BAFTA, which is astonishing since she is one of their most well known and revered English Roses.
Of course I'm not suggesting Carter should have won over Swinton or Cotillard. But she was certainly worthy of nomination and in a weaker year, for example if she was nominated now, of a win. As great as Depp was in this movie, for me it was Bonham Carter that was the heart of it. Bleeding, singing, aching heart. It helps that Lovett's character is the most interesting in the musical - she is not easy to categorize. She is both funny and tragic, conniving and caring and pushed to the limits because of the best - or in the case of the film's characters - worst - thing that can happen to us: 
In reality their relationship borders on sadistic as Todd threatens her life multiple times - Lovett is a match for him though, as after years of loneliness and poverty she has nothing left to lose. In fact, the only time there is fear in her eyes is not when she is scared she will lose her life, it's when she is scared being on the verge of losing Todd's affection when he finds out what she did to make it possible for them to be together.
Though I've seen the majority of Carter's extensive body of work, she completely disappeared into Mrs. Lovett here. Every smirk, every glance, every look of horror in her eyes - it all builds an unforgettable character. Her acting is at its best in her final scenes where she chooses the love for Todd over the young boy she cares for and when she completely succumbs to the evil that surrounds her.
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