Capitalism vs religion. . . and itself
Added 11/5/2009
Wow. This is an impressive venture. For about the first 14 minutes, there is no talking whatsoever, just Daniel Day-Lewis mining alone for oil in the middle of nowhere, but that time is well spent and there's never a dull moment. In fact, what you see in that quiet beginning foreshadows what lengths Day-Lewis's character, Daniel, will ultimately go to in order to protect himself and his company. For the most part, I understood why Daniel behaved as he did throughout the movie, lying to, killing and rejecting those around him. Daniel is, generally speaking, a likeable character until he eventually goes off the rails toward the end, a selfish man alone with his money. Daniel Day-Lewis gives an outstanding performance here, totally Oscar-worthy. The guy really knows his art.
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P. T. Anderson Realizes His Potential with the Help of Daniel Day-Lewis
Added 10/26/2009
Finally! A P. T. Anderson film that shows off his many directorial talents while restraining himself just enough to subordinate his virtuoso tendencies in the service of telling the story at the heart of his movie. Anderson is wise enough to trust Daniel Day-Lewis to do his thing in the lead role as an obsessed oil man named Daniel Plainview who conquers fertile lands like a capitalist Alexander the Great. Few, if any, actors can get as far into character as Day-Lewis can, and this towering performance ranks among the best of his distinguished career. Plainview may be a wicked misanthrope who rebels against his own humanity at every turn, but Day-Lewis makes you watch him carefully. In particular, his interactions with a pompous and deceitful pastor (Paul Dano), which go from wary to openly adversarial, are both defining and amusing. The sacrifice of Plainview's sanity, as well as his ability to connect with another human being, as he becomes the master of all he surveys makes him someone who compares with the Holy Grail of cinematic over-reachers, Charles Foster Kane of Citizen Kane. Anderson is gutsy enough to welcome the obvious comparison, and Day-Lewis is talented enough to pull it off. Bravo!
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Five star movie gets a two star treatment
Added 10/18/2009
There Will Be Blood is one of those films that is just perfect in every sense. It is based on Upton Sinclair's (one of my all time favorite authors) terrific novel Oil! It features the perennially underrated Daniel Day Lewis in the starring role. The direction is bold and ispired. Paul Thomas Anderson manages to say more without a single word in the opening twenty five minutes of this film than most directors say in a lifetime. The soundtrack is haunting and could not suit the subject matter more perfectly. Is it music? Not always, but this film does not call for that. This is not an Indiana Jones flick, I mean, come on. This film wades in the same waters and Johnny Got His Gun and No Country For Old Men. In fact, had it not been released in the same season as the latter, this surely would have won Best Picture. Daniel Day-Lewis does finally collect the Oscar for Best Actor which one can name numerous other performances such as Butcher Bill in Gangs of New York which should have garnered the same accolades. This is a soul-shattering meditation on a man driven by money. He is so obsessed with his own struggle for success that he poisons all those around him. His cruelty will surely touch even the most jaded movie-goer. His candor, however, drives even the most seemingly pious among the cast of characters to sacrifice their own values and beliefs to bend to the will of such an imposing character as Daniel Plainview. You must see this film. The only problem with it is the babre-bones presentation of the production in DVD and Blu-Ray. But, be warned. Guard your milkshake. Five stars.
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Review: There Will Be Blood (2007)
Added 10/13/2009
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson, Upton Sinclair
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Russell Harvard
Oh, Daniel Day-Lewis, what can't you do? In yet another Oscar-winning performance, Day-Lewis plays turn of the century oil prospector Daniel Plainview. The film also won the Academy Award for best cinematography, and was nominated for best adapted screenplay, best art direction, best editing, best sound editing, best directing, and best picture.
Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil!, this movie follows our protagonist Plainview in his relentless quest for oil and riches in early 1900's California. He runs up against a young evangelical preacher who disagrees with both his motives and his methods for ravaging the land for more and more oil.
This is one of my favorites. Everything about this film is flawless. The story, acting, visual style, characters, and music all work together so well to pull you in and take you back to oil prospecting times and make it exciting. Jonny Greenwood's music is a fantastic work of film scoring, and serves so well to underscore the story of heartbreak, hatred, and greed playing out on screen. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is one for the ages, as nearly every major review will tell you. What most reviews neglect to mention is the masterful (and criminally un-nominated) performance by Paul Dano as Eli Sunday. His character compliments Plainview's perfectly, and really puts this movie over the top for me.
Final Score: 10/10
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A Modern Masterpiece
Added 10/7/2009
I kinda considered myself a casual Daniel Day Lewis fan, but when i first saw There Will Be Blood in the fall of 2007....I WAS HOOKED. I now feel that, without a doubt, Daniel Day Lewis is most definitely one of our great film actors of our time. His naturalistic, unguarded, venomous portrayal of unscrupulous oilman Daniel Plainview will leave you shaking, and i feel its one of the best portrayals of human greed ive ever seen on film. The first 15 to 20 minutes, theres absolutely no dialogue, as we see Plainview as a young driller in a group searching for oil. After that, we see him and a young boy he adopts as his own son named H.W., come to a small town called Little Boston, where they pose as quail hunters, but in actuality, are there to find oil at the property of Eli Sunday, brilliantly played by Paul Dano. Sunday is a young preacher, thought to be a spiritual healer. Without giving too much away, over time, Plainview and Sunday dont see eye to eye, both men have their own reasons for doing the things they do, and with Plainview, we see firsthand how greedy and spiteful and deranged he becomes as the years pass and his wealth grows. To say hes not a likeable man is an UNDERSTATEMENT, and you wonder if deep down he wants us to hate him as much as he says he hates all other people around him. He proves to be out for self and is willing to openly sacrifice all those near him for what he feels is rightfully his to claim. The script, the haunting score by Johnny Greenwood, which relies on strings that parlay a riveting sense of psychological tension even in low-key moments and the vast cinematography all combine to create a film that will disturb and penetrate you for two and a half hours. Paul Thomas Anderson's masterful direction shows a eye of a great master. A powerful film.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Capitalism vs religion. . . and itself
Added 11/5/2009
Wow. This is an impressive venture. For about the first 14 minutes, there is no talking whatsoever, just Daniel Day-Lewis mining alone for oil in the middle of nowhere, but that time is well spent and there's never a dull moment. In fact, what you see in that quiet beginning foreshadows what lengths Day-Lewis's character, Daniel, will ultimately go to in order to protect himself and his company. For the most part, I understood why Daniel behaved as he did throughout the movie, lying to, killing and rejecting those around him. Daniel is, generally speaking, a likeable character until he eventually goes off the rails toward the end, a selfish man alone with his money. Daniel Day-Lewis gives an outstanding performance here, totally Oscar-worthy. The guy really knows his art.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
P. T. Anderson Realizes His Potential with the Help of Daniel Day-Lewis
Added 10/26/2009
Finally! A P. T. Anderson film that shows off his many directorial talents while restraining himself just enough to subordinate his virtuoso tendencies in the service of telling the story at the heart of his movie. Anderson is wise enough to trust Daniel Day-Lewis to do his thing in the lead role as an obsessed oil man named Daniel Plainview who conquers fertile lands like a capitalist Alexander the Great. Few, if any, actors can get as far into character as Day-Lewis can, and this towering performance ranks among the best of his distinguished career. Plainview may be a wicked misanthrope who rebels against his own humanity at every turn, but Day-Lewis makes you watch him carefully. In particular, his interactions with a pompous and deceitful pastor (Paul Dano), which go from wary to openly adversarial, are both defining and amusing. The sacrifice of Plainview's sanity, as well as his ability to connect with another human being, as he becomes the master of all he surveys makes him someone who compares with the Holy Grail of cinematic over-reachers, Charles Foster Kane of Citizen Kane. Anderson is gutsy enough to welcome the obvious comparison, and Day-Lewis is talented enough to pull it off. Bravo!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Five star movie gets a two star treatment
Added 10/18/2009
There Will Be Blood is one of those films that is just perfect in every sense. It is based on Upton Sinclair's (one of my all time favorite authors) terrific novel Oil! It features the perennially underrated Daniel Day Lewis in the starring role. The direction is bold and ispired. Paul Thomas Anderson manages to say more without a single word in the opening twenty five minutes of this film than most directors say in a lifetime. The soundtrack is haunting and could not suit the subject matter more perfectly. Is it music? Not always, but this film does not call for that. This is not an Indiana Jones flick, I mean, come on. This film wades in the same waters and Johnny Got His Gun and No Country For Old Men. In fact, had it not been released in the same season as the latter, this surely would have won Best Picture. Daniel Day-Lewis does finally collect the Oscar for Best Actor which one can name numerous other performances such as Butcher Bill in Gangs of New York which should have garnered the same accolades. This is a soul-shattering meditation on a man driven by money. He is so obsessed with his own struggle for success that he poisons all those around him. His cruelty will surely touch even the most jaded movie-goer. His candor, however, drives even the most seemingly pious among the cast of characters to sacrifice their own values and beliefs to bend to the will of such an imposing character as Daniel Plainview. You must see this film. The only problem with it is the babre-bones presentation of the production in DVD and Blu-Ray. But, be warned. Guard your milkshake. Five stars.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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