- directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Loosely based on the Upton Sinclair novel, Oil!, There Will Be Blood follows the rise of silver miner-turned-oil prospector, Daniel Plainview's (Daniel Day-Lewis) family enterprise into the oil business.
I'm struggling to make these posts shorter and less spoilerrific, so I'm gonna take a different approach on this one. I kinda wanted these posts to be as much about me as the films; if that makes sense. Bear with me, this is all experimentation. :P
There were a few reasons I wanted to see this film. For one, when I first saw the trailer (you can view the trailer of just about every film I review by clicking on it's title at the head of the post) I knew it would become one of those films that I wouldn't miss for anything in the world; it was instinctive. It's such an exemplary piece of great editing; definitely one of the all-time best trailers I've seen. It's also a Paul Thomas Anderson film. Anderson directed one of my most favorite films in this and every parallel universe; Magnolia (1999). I would've been dead-set to see whatever his follow-up film was. I'm also a huge Daniel Day-Lewis fan. I fell in love with the guy with Martin Scorsese's The Age Of Innocence (1993), both physically and artistically. I think the guy's one of the most gorgeous and talented actors in Hollywood. I would've been drawn to see whatever he attached himself to next. Lastly, I had heard some time ago that Radiohead virtuoso, Jonny Greenwood, was tapped to score the film. I've long believed that Jonny's one of the most criminally overlooked musicians out there. In my personal pantheon, the guy's a high demigod. The thought of Greenwood scoring a film had me excited to no end.
In the end, this film is a symphony of technical mastery. It's helmed by a deft filmmaker who's really done his best to branch out in a new and exciting way. It stars one of the greatest actors in Hollywood giving one of the best performances in cinematic history. And it's all set to the tune of a truly talented avant-garde musician. I couldn't not love this movie. And I didn't; I loved this film. It's technically, perfect, but it rises above all else into something wholly other; it's a treasure trove of subtext and metaphor. I can't say enough about how much I loved this film. The story's engaging. The characters, compelling. Everything is right where it should be. And it all comes together to examine an interesting strain of the darker side of human nature that's characteristically American; a blend of avarice and a dark ambition fueled by a hatred of fellow man. Daniel Plainview is a misanthrope's misanthrope and a villain's villain. 'Nough said.
10/10 Perfection. I'm a sucker for Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jonny Greenwood. I'm also a sucker for brilliant storytelling, acting and scoring. I've also a thing for stories told over a great expanse of time, literally and figuratively. More than anything, I'm a sucker for dark character studies.
DS333, pleased as punch.
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