Snippitts of Illusions

Dodd quickly turns into a mentor and uses Freddie as a guinea pig for his analysis techniques. We learn that Freddie’s mother is institutionalized and that he had an incestuous relationship with his aunt. We also learn that Freddie left a girl, Doris, who he was in love with and still pines. 

The yacht soon reaches New York City. There Dodd does a regression technique on a woman, and a skeptical man confronts him, questioning his methods and assertions. Dodd eventually explodes at the man, and Freddie and Dodd’s son-in-law go to the man’s apartment later that night and assault him.

For the rest of the film, Freddie goes from a firm believer to a doubter to a firm believer again. Dodd uses Freddie as a guinea pig, trying out different techniques and methods while his followers look on. Dodd’s wife, Peggy (Amy Adams), tells Freddie that he can only stay if he stops drinking and making the “hooch” he provides to Dodd. She tells Dodd that he can have affairs, but only if she never knows about them. The film follows Freddie’s eventual abandonment of the Dodd’s cult, leaving when he’s overcome by doubt.

Freddie becomes lost again after going to find Doris and discovering that she is happily married in Alabama. He has a dream in a movie theater in which Dodd asks him to come to England. Freddie travels to England to find Dodd, where Peggy and Dodd confront him for the last time. Dodd asks him to stay, telling him if he leaves, he can never come back. Freddie leaves the cult, and the movie ends with him picking up a woman and having sex with her in a loft. The scene fades back to Freddie lying on the beach with the sand woman, where he looks content. 

The film is plodding, but not boring. There’s a chemistry between the actors that is mesmerizing, and Anderson’s visual styling is as captivating as the actors’ performances. Phoenix’s portrayal of Freddie is on the surface that of a simpleton, and even though Freddie, as a character, is not very smart, there are layers of depth and nuance in Phoenix’s performance that show how deeply troubled Freddie is. Hoffman’s Dodd is the opposite: smart, with a simmering charisma that goes from affable to explosive in a moment. Amy Adams’ Peggy is calculating, seemingly a staunch believer of Dodd’s cult. Her presence is cool and controlling. She is not charismatic like Dodd, nor does she seem deeply troubled like Freddie. But she has a certain sway over Dodd and a dislike for Freddie that only grows as the film progresses. 

This movie is a fascinating study of characters, and the performances of Hoffman and Phoenix are riveting. If you can appreciate a film that makes the characters and the actors' ability to portray those characters the focus, this film is worth your time.