Director
Paul Thomas Anderson
Leading Actors/Actresses
Joaquin Phoenix
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Joaquin Phoenix, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Amy Adams
Date of Release
2012
Producer
Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar
Setting and Context
Post World War II America - September 1945-1950
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Freddie
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Freddie. Antagonist is Lancaster and Peggy.
Major Conflict
Freddie joins the Cause, led by Lancaster Dodd, and his movement doesn't want Freddie around, as the other members seek to expand and as they are attacked for their beliefs.
Climax
Dodd leaves for England and declares Freddy an enemy because he leaves the Cause.
Foreshadowing
John More's argument with Dodd foreshadows Dodd's need to be the master, and his incapability of even himself grasping onto the concepts he's "discovered" as truth.
Understatement
It is understated that Freddie, who seems incompatible with the other members, will leave the Cause.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The film is an allusion to people doing to will of one man, blindly.
Paradox
Dodd loves and cares for Freddie. Paradoxically, he swears to make him his eternal enemy if he leaves him.
Parallelism
The shot of the ocean at the end of the film when Freddy travels to England parallels the opening shot of the ocean in the film.
