123. Master; movie review

 

MASTER

Cert 15

98 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong horror, racism, language

Racism, isolation, a ghost and the stuffiness of academia.

Mariama Diallo's Master attempts to tackle so many ideas that it becomes terribly confusing and loses any potential edge.

That's a pity because this film has its heart in the right place.

It stars Zoe Renee as Jasmine, - a valedictorian at her Washington school who should have had no problem fitting in to a prestigious university.

However, her very first encounter with other students leads the audience to believe that horror is around the corner.

In essence, Master is about fitting in or not being allowed to, either because of background or especially race.

At lowest end is Jasmine but similar problems are faced by the college's new dean (Regina Hall) who begins to sense that her appointment is tokenism.

Meanwhile, things are going bump in the night as the ghost of a previous victim starts to emerge.

The problem is that it appears that the makers of Master could not decide what type of movie they wanted it to be.

And throwing in horror actually dilutes a powerful message about racism in high end American education.

The confusion is reflected in performances which are, frankly, a bit wishy-washy and a finale which leaves loose ends untied.

Thankfully, we didn't waste a cinema trip on Master, instead watching it on Amazon Prime.

Well, I did. Mrs W knew that it wasn't for her after 15 minutes and went to bed. Wise move.

Reasons to watch: Slightly different horror premise

Reasons to avoid: Reverts to a cliches and stereotypes

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3/10

Did you know? Black students still make up only 6%-7% of ivy league students, while 12% of the general US population is black.

The final word. Mariama Diallo: "There were a lot of films that were on my mind as I made Master. I was on a big Haneke kick – for me, so many of his films can be viewed through a horror lens. The Piano Teacher, Cache, and The White Ribbon were some of his films that I kept returning to." Bloody Disgusting

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