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Greed
driven capitalism and fundamentalist religion clash in There
Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson's early 20th century oil
boom tale of barbarity which is loosely based upon Upton Sinclair's
novel Oil!. The film stars a magnificent Daniel Day Lewis
as silver merchant turned oil magnate Daniel Plainview, who travels
from state to state along with his adopted infant son H.W. Plainview
(an impressive Dillon Freasier), establishing extraction operations
with his own drilling equipment, whilst undercutting numerous ranchers
and farmers who are oblivious to the wealth of black gold underneath
them. When he receives word that the town of Little Boston contains
an ocean of oil, Plainview quickly establishes a drilling operation
yet meets resistance by Evangelical preacher and self described
healer Eli Sunday (Paul Dano).
The conflict between Day Lewis' atheist oil man and Dano's fervent
man of God is thrilling, and the films best moments happen when
they are on screen together. Both characters are driven by greed
and power, and believe they are morally superior over their fellow
man, using different means to subject others to their will; Plainview
with wealth and savage brutality, and Sunday with the word of God.
The back and forth between the two is intense, with several key
scenes demonstrating the burning hatred they have for each other.
One scene has Plainview bashing Sunday for failing to heal his son;
Plainview then gets his comeuppance in an electrifying baptism scene
where he is forced by Sunday to scream to the Lord that he is a
sinner; in turn, a latter scene has Plainview humiliatingly coercing
Sunday to bellow that he is a false prophet, and his God is a superstition.
The acting on hand is exceptional. Day Lewis is astonishing, the
chameleon thespian providing a stern and intimidating presence,
along with a thick Jack Palance-esque growl straight from the depths
of hell from which his character came. Dano - who was a last minute
replacement and only given a week to prepare for his role - provides
a startling turn which has been unfortunately looked over by many
award bodies and critic groups, and young Dillon Freasier gives
a very good performance whilst containing wisdom beyond his years.
Roger Elswitt provides gorgeous photography, and Radiohead
guitarist Johnny Greenwood's eerie, grandiose, and (above all) unsettling
score works a treat. Not enough credit has been given to the films
sound department, who shine during the films dialogue free, 15 min
opening sequence.
Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson - who made a name for himself
with his Robert Altman inspired ensemble drama's Boogie Nights
and Magnolia - channels Stanley Kubrick whilst creating
his best work yet. He has drawn excellent performances from his
actors, and - along with editor Dylan Tichenor - has crafted a film
which flows very well despite it's almost 3 hour running time. However,
the scripts ambiguous tone and distracting plot developments (most
notably the introduction of Plainview's half brother almost 3 quarters
into the film) halts There Will Be Blood from becoming the
masterpiece that it should be. While it is clear that Anderson has
something to say about big oil and big religion, its inability to
spit out its message becomes irritable and meaningless. A nip and
a tuck here and there along with more emphasis on its central themes,
and this film could have been the movie of the year. As it stands,
it is only a strong contender in a field of excellent prospects.
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