The spell-binding first trailer for The Master showed us exactly why there’s so much hype surrounding this film. Now there’s a final trailer (at least for US audiences) that ups the intensity considerably – again reminding us why this film is “must see” material.

Freddie Sutton (Joaquin Phoenix) is a young naval veteran just home from World War II. Having witnessed horrors beyond measure, he’s unsettled and unsure of the life he’s come back to… until he encounters a faith-based group called ‘The Cause’ and meets their charismatic intellectual leader “the Master” (Philip Seymour Hoffman). But as he gets more involved and the group’s following grows, Freddie begins to question both their belief system and the man they idolise.

With Paul Thomas Anderson‘s assured hand at the helm this should be a cult film that’s a cut above. Anderson’s There Will Be Blood was fantastic and he ensures stand-out performances translate brilliantly to the screen. So with actors of Hoffman and Phoenix’s calibre on board, The Master should be a riveting watch – as you’ll see from this trailer.

Unfortunately the sound mix seems a little off, and it’s the same for every version out there. We’ll update the trailer when this is fixed.

http://youtu.be/rsuWiutfkxk

Each trailer and clip for The Master has been very different. It’s nice to see this approach to film promo – most of the time new trailers are just a mashup of the previous one with a new scene or two thrown in. It would have been very easy to have all this film’s promo play off one or two elements – particularly the post-WWII setting – but they don’t.

Phoenix tapping on the window throughout is a great touch and I also really like that they’ve thrown in something quirky (the girl poking out her tounge) to break up the intensity a bit.

As I mentioned, this should be a riveting watch… with potential career best performances from Hoffman and Phoenix.

The US gets The Master in late September, and Australia in November. No New Zealand date has been set, but hopefully we don’t have to wait much longer than the Aussies.

A 1950s-set drama centered on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as “the Master” whose faith-based organisation begins to catch on, and a young drifter who becomes his right-hand man.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Rami Malek, Jesse Plemons, W. Earl Brown, Jillian Bell, Kevin J. O’Connor, Lena Endre and Ambyr Childers.

No New Zealand release date as yet.