I feel a bit of a fraud, did a hit and run with my first review in ages, came back a month later and...
I feel a bit of a fraud, did a hit and run with my first review in ages, came back a month later and you've given me a diamond. I should get back into this, I've been so lazy recently your generous accolade could be just the encouragement I needed. Zx
Member since:04.07.2000
Reviews:89
Members who trust:79
Ostensibly 'There will be Blood' is a film about oil, what it's actually about is much harder to define. The bare bones of the plot are taken from a 1927 novel, straightforwardly titled 'Oil!', and at its simplest it's the story of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his rise to wealth and power in that business over the first thirty years of the 20th Century. The bulk of the narrative takes place in the California community of Little Boston, which Plainview descends on after a tip they're sat on top of an ocean of oil. Here he meets resistance from Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), the local self-styled church leader, and competition from larger oil companies.
As its title suggests 'There will be Blood' is concerned with religion, and fittingly its themes are large and biblical. It is a film about fathers and sons, about duelling brothers, about cursed lands covered in sin. At the centre of this world stands Daniel Plainview, a man who sometimes seems like the devil himself. Daniel Day- Lewis is hypnotic in the role, he mesmerises the audience as he does the people of Little Boston. He is calm and considered, magnetically appealing and yet terrifying, he practically jumps off the screen with intensity.
This remarkable performance is well contrasted with Dano's. As Plainview attracts, Eli revolts. Plainview is all swarthy charm and Eli is a pasty, pious whelp. The men are united and set at odds by their pride, which is more important to both than anything they claim to believe in or desire. The hope for something better lies with Plainview's adopted son H.W. (played by wide-eyed newcomer Dillon Freasier), but in every moment of paternal affection you can't help shake the feeling the child is little more than a tool to create an illusion of humanity. There is a desire for love and family, but it is all drowned in oil. Plainview, and the film itself, are misanthropic to the core.
PT Anderson's films have been marked by invention, not least in terms of sound and music and 'There will be Blood' continues that trend. Jonny Greenwood's work is startlingly effective, perhaps most notably in the film's dialogue free opening scenes. There is something in the sound of the film that lifts it out of its period, even out of the tradition of cinema, in fact it practically jolts you out of your seat. Everything about the experience of watching this film feels revelatory; it is visceral, powerful and executed in such unexpected ways. It is a beautifully shot epic where underneath bleached landscapes black liquid flows like blood, and above, noxious smoke and fire chase across cloudless skies.
This is a true American masterpiece and its ingenious pacing means, at over two and a half hours, the experience never feels less than engrossing.
It is an astonishing piece of cinema.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1945 - Drama - Director: David Lean - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond
Production Year: 1999 - Drama - Director: Dick Maas - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: William Hurt, Jennifer Tilly, Denis Leary, Michael Chiklis, Francesca Brown
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Great to see you back writing again Zoe, it's been way too long! Another wonderfully-written piece - you've lost none of your knack for film reviewing, this sounds superb. :) tom
Lizamabug 20.02.2008 22:10
Really well written yes but you've concentrated on style over content in places. Not knocking your style at all as it's great, I just felt like this didn't quite tell me all I'd want to know. Elle x
torr 20.02.2008 19:53
Good review. And good to see you writing again. Duncan x
A brutal bloody and gripping saga of obsession corruption and poisonous greed; Paul ... more
Thomas Anderson's Award Winning There Will Be Blood is a masterly unwavering inspection of a consummately evil man whose trailblazing spirit is equalled only by hi...
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Daniel Plainview and son are independent oil men, looking for prospects in California at ... more
the turn of the 20th century. They are challenged by a young preacher, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), whose own ambition is matched by Plainview's. Their battle forms the...
Feb 20th, 2008
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