Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master continues to intrigue with the latest teaser revealing a look at Philip Seymour Hoffman as the enigmatic figure Joaquin Phoenix encounters — a mustachioed character who, in a new teaser entitled "Hopelessly Inquisitive," describes himself as "a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher" and stands poised in startling contrast to the skulking Phoenix.
Though it feels as if pieces of Anderson's plot haven't yet fallen completely in to place, the film follows "the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as 'the Master' (Hoffman) whose faith-based organization begins to catch on in America, and a young drifter who becomes his right-hand man (Phoenix)." But even with an elusive collection of revealed character motivations and set-up, the clips revealed thus far for the period drama have been utterly enthralling. Phoenix's physicality alone, glimpsed in the briefest of scenes here, is animalistic and transformed, whether he's emerging from the landscape to hitch a ride on a passing truck or roaring in Hoffman's face, "I know you're trying to calm me down, but just say something that's true!"
In other words: It doesn't really matter what The Master is about, or if it has anything or nothing at all to do with Scientology, does it?
The Master hits theaters October 12 via The Weinstein Co.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.