Review of There Will Be Blood

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!

Who would've thought Paul Thomas Anderson could top Magnolia in sheer audacity. Seriously. That movie was like 3 hours long, had 12 different main characters, and more coincidences than Senator Larry Craig in a Russian bathhouse. But he has, with his new ambitious epic There Will Blood which doesn't top Magnolia in length but does surpass it in depth and genius.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview who starts off as an unsuccessful miner who begins to make it big when he finds oil in one of his wells. Along comes Paul Sunday, played by Paul Dano, who offers him a lead on an oil resting in Little Boston. Daniel sets out to scout this land and finds an ocean of oil under Little Boston which then leads to a power struggle between him and Eli Sunday, also played by Paul Dano (twin brothers), over the town and it's resources (people included). The movie does have more plot points such as the unexpected visit from Daniel's long lost brother and his falling out between him and his son.

Daniel Day-Lewis is easily one of the greatest actors of all time. He devotes himself to a role completely, and always reinvents himself with new and broader roles. With Plainview he is able to portray an ambitious oil tycoon who knows no boundaries when it comes to achieving his goal and beating the competition but also has a flawed psyche that is fueled by his need for competition and the power that comes from it which eventually leaves him broken and alone by film's end. Paul Dano is also exceptional as the religious leader of Little Boston that uses faith and religion to gain power just as Daniel uses ambition and greed. Hell, even Dillon Freasier is amazing as H.W. Plainview, Daniel Plainviews son, who sustains his admiration and love for his father through a really horrific childhood experience.

Anderson seems to be channeling a bit of Kubrick in this movie. From his detached, non-judgemental view at humanity and the depths people are willing to go for their own satisfaction to the still camera that moves ever so slightly but always keeps an objective view of what it's watching. The score, done by Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead, is also like Kubrick films in that it always flows with the picture and is incredibly haunting. Don't get me wrong, it's not like Anderson is just copying Kubrick. There's a lot of his own signature touches in the movie that are reminiscent of his earlier films like his own brand of comedy and sharp dialogue but he seems to be channeling a more non-stylized, detached look at the story and character like he did in his first movie, Hard Eight.

There are some flaws just as every other movie but they're forgivable when looking at the big picture. The beginning is a 20 minute dialogue-less set-up that struggles to capture your attention and the movie doesn't pick up the pace till Daniel reaches Little Boston. That's not to say the opening is poorly done, it just requires a lot of patience to wait for the payoff.

Speaking of payoff, the ending really delivers on what the first two acts promised which is a final confrontation between Eli and Daniel which is as unforgiving and objective as the rest of the film had been. The battle between ambition and faith, money vs. god, is a big theme in the movie and it works very well throughout it, making the ending all the more satisfying.

I'm Finished

Posted on 01/02/08 by: matt2648 09:21 PM

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