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There Will Be Blood
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 158
min.
Release Date:
January 2008
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Similar to the film
CASTAWAY in which Tom Hanks carries the entire production, THERE
WILL BE BLOOD has that same air due to the phenomenal performance by
Daniel Day-Lewis ...with one big exception. Hanks was alone, so there
really was no other supporting cast to compare him against while on his
little island (unless you count the volleyball, ‘Wilson’). Daniel
Day-Lewis was surrounded by a fine cast, but he outshone everyone of
them by leagues.
Not surprising, Day-Lewis won every acting award in every awards
ceremony in 2007 (from the Oscars on down).
More of a story about greed, There Will Be Blood is also a battle
of wills: one with god-fearing faith and the other without. The faithful
is represented by a fire-breathing preacher named Eli Sunday (Paul Dano,
LITTLE MISS
SUNSHINE). Apparently an identical twin, Eli’s brother
Paul finds the successful oil tycoon Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis)
and offers up his family’s ranch in California as a place where “oil
runs on the surface of the ground.” Daniel and his ‘son’ head onto the
ranch and discover that there is, indeed, a lot of oil to be had. Making
an initial promise to Eli that they’ll “build a new church” for the
local congregation, Daniel sets to work buying up all the surrounding
property and dropping his first rig into the ground. Problems quickly
arise with Eli, however, who has his own form of greed: the greed of
religion. Wanting his money to build his church, Eli inserts himself
into Daniel’s business and the two quickly bump heads. Bad things begin
happening around the new oil derrick: a well-man dies, an explosion and
fire, and the sudden head injury of Daniel’s son, H.W. Plainview (Dillon
Freasier).
The greed of Daniel Plainview knows no bounds, and the internal
corruption that it causes is eked out in terrible portions. When Daniel
puts his son on a train and abandons him, we see that there’s much more
beneath the surface of this fractured man. Morality isn’t something he’s
familiar with. Eli quickly zeroes in on this and all but forces Daniel
to be baptized and saved in order to continue his successful drilling of
the area. This is something that will come back and haunt both Eli and
Daniel at the end of the film.
Again, it is the awe-invoking performance by Day-Lewis that carries the
film throughout its 158 minute length. The other actors do fine jobs, no
doubt about it, but they pale in comparison to Day-Lewis’ John Huston-inspired performance (his voice was impeccable).
This is a pretty dark film with not-just-a-few allusions that lean
toward biblical text (many of the character names are taken straight
from the bible, including Abel, Mary, Daniel, and Eli). The allusions go
deeper than simple names, however, and watching There Will Be Blood one
can’t help but see them. The great part about this is that the ending
doesn’t wind up where you think it should. Forget redemption. You’ll
know how harsh Daniel Plainview’s life has become when you hear him say,
“I’m finished.” [shiver!]
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Image from There Will Be
Blood
DVD cost: $20.99
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy: Daniel Day-Lewis
based his voice for and characterization of Daniel Plainview in part on
old recordings of the director, writer, and actor John Huston. An
article by Christopher Goodwin in the Sunday Times (of London) revealed
Paul Thomas Anderson sent Daniel Day-Lewis documentaries about Huston
while Day-Lewis was preparing to play the role.
Movie Quote: "There's
a whole ocean of oil under our feet, and no one can get at it but me!"
Other Actors/Actresses
from There Will Be Blood
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