Exactly as Mick LaSalle said in his review of the movie, what's so frustrating about The Master is the exceptional potential of the movie. Phoenix is exceptional as always and Hoffman is great, and the idea of the Cause is fascinating, but the stream of consciousness, nontraditional narrative just didn't work for me. At no point was I emotionally invested in any character, and there was no clear plot, just a series of interactions between the two main characters, with Adams in the background to reinforce the Cause. As the movie went on, it was a character study of two characters who were flat and led to an extremely dull third act. The visuals are nice and there are some good themes present, but not enough or any well developed enough to entertain throughout the film. If there had been more development and actual moving plot in both Freddie and the Cause, this could have been an excellent movie. Instead, it's a middling one.

So many interesting characters with absolutely nothing done with them. Were some scenes in Freddie's imagination..? Really disappointing as I loved the set-up, but it went nowhere and had no real conclusion

None of the acting is bad, but man, what a pointless story. One of those things where it is in fact so pointless that you figure it out before the end, but sit there like a dummy waiting for it 'just in case' there is some kind of closure.Pointless.

I feel like this movie will become more appreciated over time. In my opinion Joaquin Phoenix and Seymour Hoffman give two of the greatest performances i have ever seen- the complexity of both characters and their relationship really being the centre of the film. Although it takes a while to get off the ground, if you're interested in character heavy drama, this is a must see.