As damaged as Freddie is though, I sort of saw him as somewhat heroic by CLINGING to his pathologic behaviors. Knowing people with such deep psychosis as I do, I can tell you that they see themselves as fighting the good fight to keep society from taking away that one thing, in some ways the only thing, they can cling to...their sickness. Fascinating stuff...this movie crawled deep under my skin in ways I hadn't expected. Yikes.

that should read "pathological behaviors," of course...

I think the "need" for a resolved ending in which the protagonist has changed (usually for the better) is an American tendency because the American Dream is all about eternal optimism and self-betterment. World cinema (especially European) is full of protagonists who don't change or who change for the worse. Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I tend to favor ambiguous endings and I absolutely loved this movie because of its complexity. Kudos to Megan Ellison for having the guts to back it financially!

That's a very astute observation, L N. I wonder if we'll see more of this down the road, even from Hollywood? Because lord knows the American Dream has changed (I'm lookin' at you 2008), will Hollywood reflect that? I'm thinking it will. Our culture is looking down the jowls of some very tough times and I don't think Optimus Prime and Megatron duking it out is going to salve over the harsh realities. With that in mind, perhaps the need for a bright and sunshiny denouement will increase to offset the bleakness of current events? Interesting. Either way, The Master makes us ask some hard questions about 'where we're at.' And that is always a necessary and critical calling for any work of art.

L N, on several levels, the movie is a masterful work of art. Every shot is cinematic. The acting is incredible. The story is both classic in its shape and substance [Hero's Journey], yet profound in its depth. And I, like you, enjoyed the film's complexity and ambiguous ending. An interesting movie to which to compare it is The King's Speech. Both are essentially an in-depth two-character study, one the Protagonist, one a Mentor. Their relationships are both intense and psychologically based. And yet they are two utterly different stories. Like you, I'm glad Megan Ellison [Annapurna Pictures] is around because she is helping to galvanize the indie movie market. Here is an LAT article about her.