2008 Woodie Awards
There Will Be Blood Review
Ian Griffner
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Arts
To say that There Will Be Blood is a great movie is an understatement. To say it is an outstanding movie is closer but also seems to come up a little short. It is already clearly one of the best movies of the year and will probably prove to be one of the best movies in the last five years, if not the last decade.
The story, based on the novel Oil by Upton Sinclair, revolves around Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, a self made prospector or "oil man" in the early 1900's. Plainview and his son travel to the town of Little Boston when they are told there is a veritable jackpot of oil residing under the ground. The story then follows the difficulties Plainview faces in drilling the land, including constantly butting heads with both a rival oil company and a local preacher played by Paul Dano, (Little Miss Sunshine 2006, The Girl Next Door 2004) as well as the deafening of his son when one of his derricks explode.
The film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson of Magnolia and Boogie Nights, is expertly made. As in many of his other films, Anderson is able to intimately capture the personalities of the characters and the tension between them. He has become increasingly adept in making the audience care about a complex and seemingly distasteful cast of characters.
This is thanks in no small part to the cast, Day-Lewis and Dano in particular. Day-Lewis is outstanding as Plainview, the ruthless yet undeniably compelling prospector that manages to charm the audience throughout the film even as his paranoia over rival companies and his difficulty in dealing with his deaf son cause him to unravel. This is nothing new from Day-Lewis who already showed he was capable of such complex roles when he played Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, the ruthless yet compelling leader of a gang in Martin Scorcese's Gangs of New York. Unlike in Gangs of New York, however, Day-Lewis does not completely overshadow the rest of the movie. There Will Be Blood is grand enough that Day-Lewis doesn't have to hold back and his co-stars show up just enough to be able to keep from being completely blown off screen.
The story, based on the novel Oil by Upton Sinclair, revolves around Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, a self made prospector or "oil man" in the early 1900's. Plainview and his son travel to the town of Little Boston when they are told there is a veritable jackpot of oil residing under the ground. The story then follows the difficulties Plainview faces in drilling the land, including constantly butting heads with both a rival oil company and a local preacher played by Paul Dano, (Little Miss Sunshine 2006, The Girl Next Door 2004) as well as the deafening of his son when one of his derricks explode.
The film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson of Magnolia and Boogie Nights, is expertly made. As in many of his other films, Anderson is able to intimately capture the personalities of the characters and the tension between them. He has become increasingly adept in making the audience care about a complex and seemingly distasteful cast of characters.
This is thanks in no small part to the cast, Day-Lewis and Dano in particular. Day-Lewis is outstanding as Plainview, the ruthless yet undeniably compelling prospector that manages to charm the audience throughout the film even as his paranoia over rival companies and his difficulty in dealing with his deaf son cause him to unravel. This is nothing new from Day-Lewis who already showed he was capable of such complex roles when he played Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, the ruthless yet compelling leader of a gang in Martin Scorcese's Gangs of New York. Unlike in Gangs of New York, however, Day-Lewis does not completely overshadow the rest of the movie. There Will Be Blood is grand enough that Day-Lewis doesn't have to hold back and his co-stars show up just enough to be able to keep from being completely blown off screen.
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