There Will Be Blood Movie Review
THERE WILL BE BLOOD: NIGHTMARE INDUCING
There Will Be Blood is as tragic and dark as a horror movie, if not scarier. Paul Thomas Anderson brings Upton Sinclair’s Oil to the big screen with this historical film about oil in California in the early 20th century. Daniel Day Lewis is staggering as a money grubbing hateful man. The score expresses emotion where as it main characters can only be immoral.
Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is in oil to put it mildly. He has built his oil drilling company from the ground up. He goes town to town offering his services to drill for a fee. He is approached by a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano). Paul tells him that his family’s land has oil for the drilling. Daniel pays him $500 for the location and tells him that he will come for his money and more if Paul is lying. Daniel pays a visit to the Sunday ranch with his son H.W. (Dill Freasier) under the pretense of quail hunting. He meets Paul’s brother Eli (Paul Dano). Eli is a preacher at the local church, the Church of the Third Revelation. When Daniel confirms that there is indeed oil, he swindles Eli’s father into selling it to him. This seals the relationship between Daniel and Eli that can be only described as filled with animosity as they both vie for control of the town. Daniel’s company sets up shop in this small town as he goes about controlling all surrounding land to satisfy his own greed. This sets off events that have a lasting negative effective on Daniel, his son, and all others surrounding him.
The story is adapted from Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil!. It is filled with power, greed, and its consequences. Its filled with characters that are far from likeable, gripping you like a nightmare that you want to wakeup from but can’t. But some fat could have been trimmed from the story as it wore out its welcome with its length. Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of hiding every few years to grab a hold of a role and have his way with it. Daniel Plainview is no exception. His voice is key in every character he portrays. His hunger for control, lack of positive emotions such as love and sympathy, and seething anger make him just as scary as any iconic villain. Paul Dano is no match for Day-Lewis, just like Eli is to Daniel. His need to have the same hold over people and failure at it is sad and hard to watch. These are two unlikable men going after what they want with no regard for the consequences. This has never been portrayed with such wickedness.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) is a diverse director. He may place all his movies in California but he isn’t afraid to tackle a new story every time. He relies heavily (and too much) on his score too communicate the mood of a scene. The opening scene of the hills in California is overly theatrical with organ music and continues throughout the movie. He has made better use of his music in his other films. Seventies classics to feel and hear the era in Boogie Nights, the character sing along in Magnolia adding to its quirkiness.
Taking out some unnecessary plot points to shorten play time would have made this film complete. Such as Daniel’s brother (Kevin J. O’Connor) coming into his life. This was only predictable and didn’t really add to the storyline but reinforce Daniel’s black soul. And maybe using music from its time (1898-1927) would have made it even more authentic.
Daniel Plainview’s ruthlessness and lack of regard for people is the core of There Will Be Blood. If you accept that you may not be bothered by his actions. You might be able to leave the theater and tell yourself it is just a movie. But its effect over you shows its strength as a movie.
Report Card:
Story-B+
Acting-A
Visuals-B
Originality/Innovation-A
Enjoyability Grade–B+
Overall Grade-B+
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