There Will Be Blood

[iv3rdawG]

When the phrase "epic" comes to mind in the movie business one usually tends to think along the lines of the Star Wars Trilogy, Lord of the Rings, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Titanic and Pulp Fiction. With the newest film from Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia), There Will Be Blood, being released I can safely say that it can and will be placed among those films as one of the best epics ever made.

There Will Be Blood tells the story of Daniel Plainview, a Texas prospector who starts off as a silver miner and happens upon oil in his findings. When one of his fellow companions dies in an accident Daniel takes it upon himself to raise the man's son and that boy becomes H.W. Plainview, Daniel's partner. I don't want to give away the full synopsis of the film because it's a real gem if you go into it not knowing fully what is going to happen.



All right well let me just start off by saying Daniel Day-Lewis really deserves to win his second Oscar here. He is just... well he just makes this film. Seriously, I can't explain how great he is in this role. The way he talks, the way his mannerisms are, his view of things, it's all amazing. Not only does Lewis give a mesmerizing performance but Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) also gives a great performance as Eli Sunday.

The film is based off the book "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair and was adapted for the screen by Anderson. I'm not sure how many of the scenes in the film were actually in the book but there definitely were standout scenes throughout the movie. Most memorably was when Daniel and H.W. were in the diner and Daniel just sits listening to the men talking, getting so angry you can just tell by his face that he really does want to slit that man's throat. Other great scenes are when Eli baptizes Daniel and that final segment of the film was amazing.



I can't praise Lewis' performance enough. He just brings so much to the character, it's phenomenal. When he sees

The film clocks in around 2 hours and 40 minutes. Not once, I repeat not one time did I look at my watch throughout the film. Now during most movies I'll always look to see what time it is and to see how much longer the film will go on for. But with There Will Be Blood I was entranced by the film, mostly due to Daniel Day-Lewis' brilliant performance. There Will Be Blood is truly the first masterpiece of the new millennium.

10/10

[Mantenna]

Wow, has no one else seen this? I just caught it in the theatre tonight, and it's phenomenal. All the glowing reviews of Daniel Day-Lewis' performance are wholly warranted--his performance creates a character who is smoothly charismatic and horrifyingly dangerous all at once. Paul Dano also does an excellent job playing two roles, including a raving "hellfire and brimstone" pastor (and I believe he had only a week or so to learn this part after the original actor left). All in all, There Will Be Blood is beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, thought-provoking with its many religious undertones, and polished off with an excellent score composed by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.

[Cootie]

I saw There Will be Blood last night. It was a late movie, I had very little sleep the night before, but I was riveted by the plot, characters, and the suspense. The soundtrack was eerie and amazing and added to the messed up minds of the oilmen and the religious fanatics. There was a small audience at this film, but this was an intent crowd, we were all hanging on every word. I got home and couldn't sleep for a few more hours, just pondering the events in this film. A coworker and I had to talk it out in a therapy session at lunch today. The violence was hard to take, as I am normally a fan of comedy and adventure films, but it worked for the film. Yes, the pace is slow, but the creepiness of the character Eli Sunday and his religious following and the intensity of Daniel Day-Lewis' character were enough to keep me wide awake and wondering what would come next...

[JLuvs]

I saw this movie today and found that Daniel Day Lewis was spectacular. If he doesn't with the Oscar I will be totally shocked. I am curious to read the book Oil now and see what else was in the story.