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The Master is already scoring rave reviews after early Stateside screenings, but according to star Joaquin Phoenix, his feedback was a little different... he thought it was a comedy.
The film sees Phoenix star as Freddie Quell, a former navy man prone to violent outbursts and generally drifting through his life. He finds purpose when he stumbles upon Philip Seymour Hoffman’s charismatic cult leader, and soon becomes his second in command.
“I’ve seen a rough version, with no score,” said Phoenix. “I thought it was a comedy. I did! I laughed the entire time I was watching it. I was sitting with Paul [ Thomas Anderson ] and I said to him, ‘This is hilarious.’”
“I have this horrible sense of humour where I think discomfort is funny - partly because I experience discomfort a lot, and it’s a way of laughing at it and getting a release."
Let it never be said that Joaquin Phoenix is not a singularly unusual man. Co-starring Amy Adams, The Master opens in the UK on 9 November 2012.
