There Will Be Blood
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Movie Reviews of There Will Be Blood
Movie Review: There Will Be Blood
Summary: 5 Stars
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I say I am an oil man, you will agree." And so begins our affair with Daniel Plainview. He is an intense man. He squints out of one eye, glaring at the rest of humanity over a drunken-gaze. Completely ruthless. A vicious, cut-throat bastard whose ego is only matched by his wealth. The only thing this man has, or will, ever love is money. Basically, he's Charles Foster Kane without the regret. And yet, you can't help but root for him at every turn in the story. Why is that? As I mentioned, he's completely ruthless. (As demonstrated in the scene where he is talking with H.W. about buying the Sunday family's ranch. "I'm not going to give them oil prices. I'm going to give them quail prices.") Perhaps it's his charisma. He just exudes it. Almost to the point of being able to dupe us as easily as he dupes all of the citizens of Little Boston. The only person who sees right through him is the local preacher, the young Eli Sunday. Eli knows that Daniel is a fake. Because he himself is a fake. The only thing these two have in common is their drive to achieve wealth. This is an epic film. Monumental. Paul Thomas Anderson is without a doubt the greatest film-maker working today. And he only keeps getting better and better. I look forward to his next film. (Though how he's going to follow this, I have no idea...) Many people, including myself, have compared this film to Citizen Kane. I do so, too, because, like Kane, this film was basically ignored by the Academy. There Will Be Blood is one of those once-in-a-lifetime films that will be remembered as being one of the greatest of all-time. If not, it most certainly contains one of the most memorable quotes in years. I don't want to spoil it for you here, though.Movie Review: pretentious melodrama or ingenious, self-effacing comedy?
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read many of the reviews of this film - not all, but many. No one has yet to state that their reaction to the film was remotely simlilar to mine. That being- I laughed uproariously. My mother, age 55, saw several of my favorite moments of the film and cackled wildly.
During the first 40-50 minutes of the film I was confounded at why the New York Times review on the back side of the case called the film "darkly comic". I thought it was beautifully bland in an utmost pretentious kind of way, but continued viewing because I figured at 2 hours and 38 minutes it could not remain at that pace for the entirety- at least I hoped not.
Through Paul Dano's flamboyant, high-pitched squeals of healing, to Daniel-Day Lewis' subtle nods of contempt and climactic "milkshake" euphemism, I saw the film as a geniously constructed piece of dark comedy. It was so genious to me because it was not played as a dark comedy; it was played as seriously and straightforward, and with as much time and craft as the best pieces of a Shakespearean drama. I saw it as playing the absurd as if it were the heaviest material. It cannot be escaped that Plainview's eccentric, outlandish behavior is over-the-top and completely unrealistic. I believe that at it's heart- it's a SCHTICK, a caricature, and it isn't supposed to be dramatic.
There are no jokes in the film; I'm sure the script reads completely straight. It's the nuances of the performances that make it fantastic.
Whatever the rest of this film's viewers believe- I have recommended this film as the holy grail of dark comedies, or simply recommended to those who believe their sense of humor is more than a tad off-kilter.
Movie Review: Stunning
Summary: 5 Stars
When was the last time you saw an actor portray an absolutely vile and reprehensible human being and want to give said actor a standing ovation? Folks, Daniel Day-Lewis is as brilliant as he is mesmerizing as ambitious oilman Daniel Plainview in THERE WILL BE BLOOD, a powerful film depicting the oil industry in the infancy of the 20th Century. Over the span of about 30 years, we see Plainview transform from a smooth-talking salesman to a vicious, greedy tycoon; the common theme throughout this transformation is Plainview's utter contempt for his fellow man. No one--not even his own blood--is worthy, especially if they happen to get in Plainview's way.
Day-Lewis is riveting playing such an odious, contemptible character; whether he's feigning compassion or committing cold-blooded crimes he's totally convincing and believable. This film is a one-man show, as Day-Lewis completely dominates every scene he's in--not in an overbearing manner, but masterfully and brilliantly. That's not to say the supporting cast isn't up to par, because it is; led by Paul Dano playing a young faith healer with a most annoying girlish scream, the cast augments Day-Lewis's performance. Honorable mention goes to Kevin J. O'Connor playing Plainview's long lost brother Henry.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a finely crafted film featuring award-winning cinematography by Robert Elswit and a most haunting musical score by Jonny Greenwood. Haunting is a great word to describe this film; stunning yet another, as Day-Lewis delivers a most disagreeable character via an exceptional performance. See this movie!
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
Movie Review: There's gold in them their broken leg.
Summary: 5 Stars
The first thing about my review that you will notice is that I do not use the characters names or describe what event it is that I am talking about. I do make it clear to you, once you've seen this movie, exactly what event I'm talking about. I deem it absolutely necessary not to give any of this movie away in my review as to keep the integrity of the movie in tact. That, in itself, should tell you how great this movie is. This, in my opinion is Day's best movie since he made My Left Foot. The movie starts off slow enough in the beginning, so much so that my wife and I almost turned it off. But after the initial 10 minutes of the movie (which there are no sounds or words), it picked up speed and stayed in the NASCAR hunt for the flag in the way of speed and flow of this movie. This one, once it gets moving, stays interesting as we follow the oil baron through his highs and lows of being a ruthless oil baron. The ending as with the rest of the movie, was well thought out and brought to us, the movie goer, in a Hope Diamond type of ending. That is to say that it is absolutely a magnificent ending where all of the main characters demon's finally come back to haunt him to the point of total ruin.
In closing I would like to emplore you to rent or buy this movie and watch it one night when your angry and spiteful. This movie will meet your anger and spite head on, and leave you feeling glad that your anger will subside even when his never did.
I bid you angry and spiteful watching and may your heart recover it's happiness even though his didn't.
Xilocane
Movie Review: Review: There Will Be Blood (2007)
Summary: 5 Stars
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson, Upton Sinclair
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Russell Harvard
Oh, Daniel Day-Lewis, what can't you do? In yet another Oscar-winning performance, Day-Lewis plays turn of the century oil prospector Daniel Plainview. The film also won the Academy Award for best cinematography, and was nominated for best adapted screenplay, best art direction, best editing, best sound editing, best directing, and best picture.
Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil!, this movie follows our protagonist Plainview in his relentless quest for oil and riches in early 1900's California. He runs up against a young evangelical preacher who disagrees with both his motives and his methods for ravaging the land for more and more oil.
This is one of my favorites. Everything about this film is flawless. The story, acting, visual style, characters, and music all work together so well to pull you in and take you back to oil prospecting times and make it exciting. Jonny Greenwood's music is a fantastic work of film scoring, and serves so well to underscore the story of heartbreak, hatred, and greed playing out on screen. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is one for the ages, as nearly every major review will tell you. What most reviews neglect to mention is the masterful (and criminally un-nominated) performance by Paul Dano as Eli Sunday. His character compliments Plainview's perfectly, and really puts this movie over the top for me.
Final Score: 10/10