There Will Be Blood
By Jason Revill
I have never once been in a theater where people were so affected by a single character in a movie. There were times where Daniel Plainview would do something or as a scene would unfold you could audibly hear the air being sucked out of the room. As a matter of fact there were times where things that he simply said were so verbally abusive that the audience would laugh out loud, not so much because they were funny, but because they were so viscerally mean, that they had to do something to break the tension. It was just fascinating to behold.
In most movies you can tell a character is evil, because he might kill somebody. In American Gangster, we know Frank Lucas is a bad guy, because he walks up and shoots his rival in the head after a witty back and forth. Now Daniel Plainview on the other hand, kills few people of his own, but the difference is he does it simply because it was what he wanted to do at the moment or he just didn’t like them. He does it as an afterthought with a much regard as you’d brush a fly away. The thing that’s makes it even worse is that for all his brutality, it isn’t the murders that make you turn on him, it’s just the general disregard for people on a basic human level. He cares absolutely nothing for his fellow man. It’s as though after his first discovery as a prospector, he drags himself out of the Earth reborn crippled both physically and emotionally by his own greed.
I know this isn’t going out on a limb or anything, but Daniel Day-Lewis is one the greatest actors the world has ever seen and if you don’t think so you’re just simply wrong. It doesn’t hurt that he only pops up every couple years and when he does it’s in something unique that allows him to explore a character. The man’s been nominated for multiple Oscars, winning once, but this will most definitely be his second win. His portrayal of Daniel Plainview couldn’t be a more pure embodiment of evil if he were the Devil himself. Regardless of whether his manner of speech is or isn’t lifted from John Huston, everything about him, from his two-faced nature like a grinning snake to his posture that gets more hunched and crooked the more wealth he attains is absolutely note perfect. I never thought I’d say this but someone finally passed Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter for evil.
With all the talk bout Daniel Day-Lewis, you would almost think he is the only person in the film, but don’t be mistaken Paul Dano probably deserves at least some recognition as Daniel Plainview’s counterpoint, Eli Sunday. Dano is so effective as his snake oil evangelist that early on you almost favor Plainview. Eli slowly reveals that he’s not really the opposite of Plainview, he’s just on the other end of the spectrum. These two men battle back and forth from the moment they meet each other. One shoves one and the other shoves back, one humiliates the other and then he does it in return. These are two people who are stuck together until their inevitable end, and I promise there will most definitely be blood.
The entire cast is actually quite good and most get to shine at least a little. Dillon Freasier as H.W is like a human doll that is a mini version of Plainview to be used and then put away as needed. Kevin J. O’Connor is just a simple man who is down on his luck and is willing to play whatever role he needs to survive. If that means following orders and pretending to be a solid family so be it, but unfortunately he’s too simple to keep it up. Ciaran Hinds isn’t seen that often, but as Plainview’s right hand man you get the feeling that he is almost as evil and certainly willing to try to be.
When I walked out of the theater I actually felt sorry for a couple people, specifically the Coen brothers. In any other year their No Country for Old Men would have easily been the best picture. It’s just unfortunate that what could be their best work came out the same year as Paul Thomas Anderson’s possible masterpiece. Anderson’s career to date is perfect with five films that are at the very least good if not great. Most directors don’t have five films that good in their entire careers, much less have them without at least one stinker. There was actually one other person I felt bad for and that was P.T. Anderson himself. As great as his career has been so far, I just don’t know how he can top what he has done in There Will Be Blood.
The Grade
- Story: A+
- Acting: A+
- Visuals: A
- Originality: A
- Enjoyability: A+
- Overall: A+
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