Will The Master be another master-class example of filmmaking from Paul Thomas Anderson?
The Oscar-nominated director's latest drama stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd, a "writer, doctor, nuclear physicist [and] theoretical philosopher" whose faith-based organization turns out to be just what Joaquin Phoenix's adrift World War II vet is looking for.
But does Hoffman really have all the answers?
"He's making all this up as he goes along—you don't see that?" Dodd's own son, Val (played by Jesse Plemons), questions Phoenix's Freddie Sutton.
If you're sensing shades of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in Hoffman's character, well...you're hardly alone.
But whatever Anderson's inspiration, he appears to have directed another gripping period drama, complete with the usual scene-chewing performance we've come to expect from Hoffman.
The Master, which also stars Amy Adams and Laura Dern, is due in theaters Oct. 12.