In “The Master,” times are tough for Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a World War II veteran whose traumatic experience has led him to great difficulty reintegrating into society. He can’t hold down a job and eventually finds himself as a stowaway on a boat. It’s there he meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a staggeringly charismatic presence who leads a movement known as The Cause. The two become intertwined as Quell becomes a part of The Cause.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” is remarkably complex. It’s the kind of film that works best when you know little about it going in, and each viewing reveals something new. Phoenix and Hoffman are nothing short of exceptional, with Hoffman delivering one of his finest performances. It’s a film full of brilliant detail and impressive performances, and Amy Adams, who plays Dodd’s faithful wife, is terrific. Laura Dern has a small but effective role in this sprawling epic as Helen Sullivan, an impassioned follower of Dodd’s who finds herself questioning her allegiances as he gets further into his complicated methodologies.

While “The Master” is a bonafide masterpiece, the reason it’s lower on the list (like “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”) is that it’s hardly a Laura Dern movie. That said, she is terrific in it, and the film reminds us that Dern can be tremendous, even in just a couple of scenes.