Review 215: There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood is a masterpeice - one that is a showcase for brilliant writing and directing from Paul Thomas Anderson and a masterful performance by Daniel Day-Lewis.

 

Based on the novel Oil by Upton Sinclair, Silver miner Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) leads a hardscrabble life with his son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier). When he hears about oil oozing from the ground near the Western town of Little Boston, Daniel takes his son on a mission to find their fortune. Daniel makes his lucky strike and becomes a self-made tycoon but, as his fortune grows, he deviates into moral bankruptcy.

The plot is nothing short of a masterpeice. Firstly, from what information I've been able to gather is that this film is only inspired by the original Upton Sinclair novel as the movie is considred too different from the book to be considred a straight adaptation, Anderson reportadly adapted the first 150 pages of the book, the rest of the story is entirellly different. 

But the story is truely fantastic, it's so layered and rich in detail, dearing characters and sharp, dark themes such as Capitalism, Savagery, Optimism, Obsession, Greed, Madness, Deception and Religion.

Capitalism and Greed: There Will Be Blood can be interpreted as a commentary on the nature of capitalism and greed, and its inherent national presence in America. The oil is underground, and it is going to be drilled and come up.

Savagery:

Optimism: 

Obsession:

Madness: The absence of family and resulting isolation in Daniel's life plays a large role in his eventual descent into madness. He shuts himself off from the world.

Deception: 

Religion & Faith: The contrast between Daniel and Eli highlights the disparity between faith and extreme greed. Both, in their own way, recklessly seek their salvation. For Daniel, his salvation is that which ultimately alienates him from all others, even himself. Throughout the film, Eli and Daniel make near-perfect foils as each courts power and prestige through the ill-treatment of their respective “families.”

Family: Daniel can't tollerate H.W.’s loss of hearing, so he “abandons” him to a boarding school for deaf children. He puts his business first over personal relationships

Paul Thomas Anderson's direction is so attention to detail, the way he frames the shots is so remarkable, he tries to capture even the smallest details of the location. It's like the is movie was directed by and a painter. The cinematography is beatiful and captures the beauty of Southern California. The scenery is breathtaking, it's great to look at but it's also quite, peaceful and doesn't draw attention to itself. The production design, recreating the late 19th century to early 20th century California and New Mexico, is just exquisite, the costumes are majestic, the score by Johnny Greenwood is fantastic (it goes from caring to haunting in the most remarkable ways), the pacing is smooth - it takes its time, it's not too fast, it's not too slow, it's just right. It builds and develops momentum and in turn the story develops it's characters and keeps us as an audience engaged with were these characters are going. 
The props are excellent, the locations are wonderful, the make up is rich and the ending was superb.

The acting is spectacular, Daniel Day-Lewis gives quite possibly the performance of his career, he carries this movie on his two shoulder, he starts out as a simple prospector

 

Paul Dano, in a duel performance no less, is  playing Eli and Paul Sunday. 

5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.