There Will Be Blood
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Movie Reviews of There Will Be Blood
Movie Review: Paul Thomas Anderson grows up
Summary: 5 Stars
I went into There Will Be Blood expecting a solid movie, but nothing on the scale writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson delivers. I enjoyed Magnolia and especially Boogie Nights for various reasons (often despite their flaws), but in those films, Anderson seemed to be merely following the multiple-character trail Robert Altman blazed many years before. This film really feels like a truly original story by a much more mature storyteller.
In addition to the terrific acting from star Daniel Day Lewis (and to a lesser extent, Paul Dano in a dual role), there were two major plusses about this movie. First, that I had no idea where the story was going. In an age where it seems that one movie is pretty much like another, this is a welcome surprise.
The second additional plus was the terrific modern-classical score from Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood (including portions of his Popcorn Superhet Receiver). It is the first in recent memory that both calls unnecessary attention to itself (mostly due to its use of dissonance during particularly dramatic scenes) and remains true to the film.
Most of the time, when I notice that I'm hearing a score, it's because it's particularly bad. A good score, most of the time, should be like a good editor: if they're doing their job, you won't notice them. But Greenwood's music outdoes itself on both fronts, making the music from There Will Be Blood also the first score since Danny Elfman's peak in the early 1990s that I am actually considering purchasing on CD.
Movie Review: What about this? Why don't I own this!!! Awesome!
Summary: 5 Stars
Many infamous moments in this movie make it great. I am sorry but I cant really get on board with the people who say poor acting in this film because Daniel Day Lewis was at his best and has the Oscar to prove it.
The reason I liked it so much is because you were in such awe and fear of this man at the same time. A similar performance to Gangs of New York, he nailed the man we refer to as Plainview.
We start at the beginning with about 15 to 20 minutes of silence. He has struck oil. We fast forward to when the boy has grown to about 8 or 9 and he is helping his father make deals for oil as they are already extremely wealthy. After the meeting of the townfolk to see if they will agree to do business with him as he does all of his own drilling, a man approaches Plainview stating that there is money to be made in his hometown, the oil is right at the surface. Paul Dano is excellent as both characters. You may remember him from The Girl Next Door. With that, Plainview sets out to this town which will make him a much more fortunate man. There are many trials and tribulations to which our very complex characters experience.
To the end we will put closure on the many different occurences from many different angles. And yes...the overused term, "I drink your milkshake, I drink it up!!!" was there too. :)
To put fear, greed and religion in the same atmosphere and see how they coexist with one another is truly a treat to be enjoyed in this excellent blockbuster!
Movie Review: There Will Be Greed
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Magnolia") achieves something very rare in films, he manages to create a really extraordinary film whose main character Daniel Plainview played by Daniel Day-Lewis ("My Left Foot") is for the most part reprehensible. With the exception of rare moments of affection for his deaf son, whose deafness is caused by an accident at his father's oil wells, Plainview cares for no one on earth, hates most people, is highly competitive and filled with unstoppable greed and ambition.
The film is based on a novel by Upton Sinclair OIL and is set in the early decades of the 20th century when a lot of Americans acted like Plainview-- to a lesser degree we hope-- in their quest for wealth at whatever expense.
The critics could not get enough of this film. Daniel Day-Lewis earned an Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of Plainview. While he is supported by good performances by other actors, notably that of Paul Dano ("Little Miss Sunshine") as the hell-fire minister of the Church of the Third Revelation, Eli Sunday, the film ultimately belongs to Day-Lewis.
In addition to his statement about greed, Anderson also shoots a nice arrow into fundamentalist, crazy religion. The soundtrack works very well, particularly the use of the beautiful Brahms Violin Concerto.
It will be interesting to see how this film holds up in the years ahead, but for now it is still white-hot.
Movie Review: horrible and dark indictment of frontier capitalism
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the story of one of the most eccentrically evil and heartless men that has ever been put on film. DDL exudes the alienation and hatred of a psychotic achiever, who will stop at no humiliation or violence to achieve his goal of building a house as he remembers it from his childhood.
The portrait of a raw Texas, shorn of romantic myth, is unbelievably vivid and graphic. From the silent work that DDL carries out in a dank mine, you get a feeling for the lack of all social structure and decency in the greedy poor. As he works his way up, he leaves a trail of damaged people in all his achievements. However, this work of art is no caricature. The characters are realistic and believable, if uglier than we care to imagine much of our past to have been.
DDL creates a truly unique character. He hates and uses everyone, even the son he adopts, letting no one close, especially women. His one unguarded moment leads inexorably to murder. His alcoholism and seething rage are all that he has, beyond his oil wealth. It is truly frightening.
Recommended. THis is a true artistic success, but I would recommend renting it rather than buying it: you will only want to watch it once.
Movie Review: P. T. Anderson Realizes His Potential with the Help of Daniel Day-Lewis
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally! A P. T. Anderson film that shows off his many directorial talents while restraining himself just enough to subordinate his virtuoso tendencies in the service of telling the story at the heart of his movie. Anderson is wise enough to trust Daniel Day-Lewis to do his thing in the lead role as an obsessed oil man named Daniel Plainview who conquers fertile lands like a capitalist Alexander the Great. Few, if any, actors can get as far into character as Day-Lewis can, and this towering performance ranks among the best of his distinguished career. Plainview may be a wicked misanthrope who rebels against his own humanity at every turn, but Day-Lewis makes you watch him carefully. In particular, his interactions with a pompous and deceitful pastor (Paul Dano), which go from wary to openly adversarial, are both defining and amusing. The sacrifice of Plainview's sanity, as well as his ability to connect with another human being, as he becomes the master of all he surveys makes him someone who compares with the Holy Grail of cinematic over-reachers, Charles Foster Kane of Citizen Kane. Anderson is gutsy enough to welcome the obvious comparison, and Day-Lewis is talented enough to pull it off. Bravo!