"It isn't how you get there, it's what you do along the way that counts."
"It isn't how you get there, it's what you do along the way that counts."
Member since:21.02.2007
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Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson Novel: Upton Sinclair Genre: Drama Country: USA Certification: 15+ Language: English Released: 7th July, 2008 (DVD)
MAIN CAST:
Daniel Day-Lewis (Daniel Plainview) Dillon Freasier (young H.W. Plainview) Paul Dano (Eli & Paul Sunday)
Daniel Plainview is a man with a purpose, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being rich. Daniel's ambition is to win, to outdo everyone else, to be the only one to succeed. His greatest desire is to see everyone else fail. He doesn't particularly like anyone because he is constantly looking for the worst in people and manages to find it every time, whether the worst is actually present or simply invented within his own mind.
Daniel's extraordinary ambition pushes him to crush those who get in his way, and to use those who can help him advance and attain his ambitions.
When a fellow worker is killed while mining for silver, leaving his son, who is still just a baby, orphaned, Daniel decides to raise the child as his own. Although, at first, it appears a kind and
compassionate thing to do, Daniel is neither the kind nor compassionate sort. Although he raises the child well, treating him kindly and giving him just enough affection to convince himself and everyone else that he's a good father, Daniel uses the child in order to gain the sympathy and trust of those he will eventually rip off. In all appearances, Daniel is a respectable family man, a widower who has single-handedly raised his son and adores him, a man with scruples who follows a rigid code of conduct, one who is compassionate and fair - in truth, Daniel is none of these things, but he's good at making everyone believe that he is.
Having gone from silver mining to the more profitable business of oil mining, Daniel receives a tip that there is a parcel of land in Little Boston, California that contains, literally, an ocean of oil. When Daniel approaches the family who own the land, after having snooped around and confirmed the presence of oil, he offers to purchase the land from them, telling them that his son's health is poor and that country life would be more suitable for him. The owner's eldest son, Eli, who is a religious fanatic and self-proclaimed healer, suspects that Daniel is trying to swindle his father, and intervenes, demanding a much higher price than the one Daniel is offering.
Giving in to Eli's demands, Daniel is forced to endure the young man's religious fanaticism, and as he struggles to uphold his image as a decent and compassionate man, tragedy strikes and his 'son' becomes deaf after a mining accident. Forced to take care of his 'son' - as a good father would and as the population expect him to - the strain becomes unbearable when his son, who has till then been extremely obedient, becomes distant and aggressive. When Eli approaches Daniel after the accident, and tells him its time to pay for the land, Daniel loses control and launches himself at Eli, giving him a thorough thrashing in front of witnesses. Unfortunately for Daniel, who is slowly becoming unhinged, his greatest enemy won't be any of the men he has fleeced over the years… it will be Eli, the religious fanatic, self-proclaimed healer, whose ambition it will be to humble Daniel.
'There Will Be Blood', as everyone knows, won an Oscar for best motion picture, and Daniel Day-Lewis was awarded an Oscar for his performance in the movie. 'There Will Be Blood' thrashed the likes of 'No Country For Old Men' and 'Juno', and was hailed as the best movie of all times… so why didn't I like it?
The truth is, I did, somewhat, like it. I was definitely impressed by Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, I thought the heavy atmosphere of the movie was great too, but the story… well… that's where I was disappointed. The story begins at the end of the 19th century, and focuses on family, greed, religion, oil and businesses before the advent of greedy shareholders - it's a simple story about an ambitious man who is not totally 'sane', who is overwhelmingly ambitious, and whose only goal in life is to do better than anyone else. Yes, the story is more substantial and drama literally oozes from each scene, thick and syrupy like blood, but it's a messy ordeal crammed with 'human' failings - and about as fascinating and enthralling to watch as a documentary showing a surgeon performing a double-bypass. How depressing…
Having viewed 'No Country For Old Men', 'Juno' and 'Atonement' before 'There Will Be Blood' - I was expecting something extraordinary, something magnificent… something that would explain why none of the movies I loved, mentioned above, won an Oscar. Therefore, I unwittingly set myself up for disappointment by expecting to be swept off my feet by this year's Oscar winning movie.
I expect that most will disagree with me and immediately defend 'There Will Be Blood', claiming it deserved to win an Oscar - go ahead. To each his own. Personally, I thought this movie darkly depressing, as entertaining as a toothache on a Saturday night, and although I can appreciate Mr. Day-Lewis' acting abilities, the storyline was singularly uninteresting. The only interesting aspect was the 'drama', but even then it was exceedingly morbid. Life is way too short to be wasted on this sort of movie.
'There Will Be Blood' is an intense drama, superbly acted, but so fierce in its unwavering focus on human failings that even the word 'morbid' fails to label it correctly.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Well, I for one totally agree with you about this Film, I was pretty bored when I saw it in the Cinema, especially after all the reviews / Oscar hype that had preceded it. Totally over-rated in my opinion, and not worth a second viewing on DVD either..........Roy......
Raef86 21.08.2008 19:03
Good explanation of your opinions; great review.
wolfatgoogle 20.08.2008 07:06
Great review, thanks. I was wondering about this movie, but I think I'll be giving it a miss now.
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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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If there's a screen performance in 2008 that comes anywhere near to matching Daniel ... more
Day-Lewis' Oscar-winning turn inThere Will Be Blood, then we've come nowhere near to seeing it. A tour-de-force of acting and a career high for Day-Lewis, it's the high...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
If there's a screen performance in 2008 that comes anywhere near to matching Daniel ... more
Day-Lewis' Oscar-winning turn inThere Will Be Blood, then we've come nowhere near to seeing it. A tour-de-force of acting and a career high for Day-Lewis, it's the high...
Postage & Packaging: £1.24 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
![There Will Be Blood (2 disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2007]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/79293663.jpg "There Will Be Blood (2 disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2007]")
Aug 19th, 2008
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![There Will Be Blood [Blu-ray] [2007]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/79293672.jpg)
