First off, masterpiece. It’s rare a movie is this mysterious and quietly powerful without pretentiousness leaking in. The dynamic between Freddie and Lancaster is sublime and captures really unique truths about friendships and power dynamics, specifically between men, but doesn’t try to call attention to its discoveries. If anything it keeps them purposely guarded and hidden.

Something that struck me on rewatch, having already known Amy Adams is really Dodd’s “master”, is that deep down, Dodd kind of knows he is a fraud. His infatuation with Freddie is in part a recognition that they are similar in their scoundrel tendencies and desire to outrun nagging insecurities, and also the fantasy of thinking he could be 100% legitimate if he is able to dispel the animal inside of THIS guy. If it works on him, it’s got to work for everyone, right?

Freddie’s “hooch” could be seen as a metaphor for “The Cause” which also helps tie the two men’s actions together. Both create a homemade numbing agent from bits and scraps of existing material to deal with the trauma of life, but it only works if you “drink it right”. I think the implication is that The Cause is still a net positive to the world at the start, but as the movie ends we see the movement starting to grow and evolve into something a bit more poisonous and domineering.

The ending is tragic and bittersweet, with Dodd and Freddie realizing this odd pairing was never fated to last. I think Dodd eventually revealing to Freddie “why he seems so familiar” after repeatedly questioning it throughout is symbolic of Dodd finally accepting his destiny as a snake oil salesman acting in bad faith, even if there is some truth to what he is preaching. The real reason Freddie seems so familiar to him is because they are kindred spirits, or at the very least he recognizes Freddie as the part of himself he has been trying to rise above and tame. He is usually successful, but sometimes he just can’t help letting out a vulgar “pig fuck” and showing his ass.

Instead of owning up to it, he deflects and conforms to his “teachings”, claiming he recognizes Freddie because they knew each other in past lives. To me that is Dodd staring at the reality of the situation, flinching, and finding comfort in his illusions instead of working towards clarity. Dodd is doomed to live a performative life of prestige. Freddie is doomed to live a hard life but will be staying true to his nature, to a fault. The time they spent together in the movie was a special moment when the veil was lifted for a bit and perhaps they could have influenced each other in a bunch of different ways, but in the end, they lock in to their “final form” and the movie ends.

Everyone needs to have a master, and maybe even be a master themselves, to truly be happy and anchor themselves to the ground. Even those floating aimlessly through life defiantly seem like they don’t have a master but they do; they are simply making their own carnal desire and unchecked trauma the master of their life. Freedom and discipline are two warring sides and the grass is always greener.