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Movies that feel like The Master (2012)

If you loved The Master, the closest films we have are Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013), Phantom Thread (2017) and Tony Takitani (2004). All three share The Master's contemplative and obsessive feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

πŸ… 85% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Paul Thomas Andersoncontemplativeobsessivedread
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If The Master hit the spot, these will too

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I poster
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
2013 Β· dir. Lars von Trier
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.9drama

One thread runs through both: sexual obsession

The difference: None of the dread The Master is built on

A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.

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Phantom Thread poster
Phantom Thread
2017 Β· dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4drama Β· romance

The same hand behind both of them: Paul Thomas Anderson

The difference: Missing the dread of The Master

In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.

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Tony Takitani poster
Tony Takitani
2004 Β· dir. Jun Ichikawa
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.2drama

Both land stillness and obsession at once

A reclusive illustrator falls in love with a young woman who addictively shops for clothing.

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Crumb poster
Crumb
1995 Β· dir. Terry Zwigoff
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8documentary

Drama with a pulse of dread, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to documentary than The Master does

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

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Eyes Wide Shut poster
Eyes Wide Shut
1999 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.5drama Β· thriller Β· mystery

The same preoccupation in both: sexual obsession

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

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Thelma poster
Thelma
2017 Β· dir. Joachim Trier
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.9drama Β· mystery Β· thriller

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

A college student starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable abilities.

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Cruel Intentions poster
Cruel Intentions
1999 Β· dir. Roger Kumble
πŸ… 55%β˜… 6.8drama Β· romance

Obsessive drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession.

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The Blue Angel poster
The Blue Angel
1930 Β· dir. Josef von Sternberg
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.6drama

Both sit in the same contemplative register

The difference: Made in the 1930s, in a different era of the craft

Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his position at the school to marry the young woman. However, his marriage to a coquette -- whose job is to entice men -- proves to be more difficult than Rath imagined.

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Bombshell poster
Bombshell
2019 Β· dir. Jay Roach
πŸ… 67%β˜… 6.8drama

Both run dread-soaked where it counts

Bombshell is a revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time; and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it.

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Godland poster
Godland
2022 Β· dir. Hlynur PΓ‘lmason
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.1drama

A streak of dread through both

In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.

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Lust, Caution poster
Lust, Caution
2007 Β· dir. Ang Lee
πŸ… 73%β˜… 7.5action Β· drama Β· romance

Both work the same obsession

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce, then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man she is assigned to kill.

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Possession poster
Possession
1981 Β· dir. Andrzej Ε»uΕ‚awski
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.2horror

A 1980s cousin in spirit

A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Master’s defining feeling.