There Will Be Blood
Well, I can say it, the Oscars bore witness to a screwjob, as the mediocre No Country beat out this searing indictment of one man’s soul. Daniel Day-Lewis truly does own the shit as Daniel Plainview who, over the three-hour running time, descends into a twisted human being who at the end can clearly be recognized as the Devil himself. The film takes its time introducing us to him and how he made his fortune, before he comes to a small town to drill oil after being tipped off by a former resident. The main dynamic is the townsfolk’s Christian beliefs clashing with his money is all important focus in life. Dano nearly matches him stride for stride as the young preacher who figures out immediately what he’s about and still tries to make the best of it for himself, ultimately to fail. Unlike No Country, which suffered from a serious lack of exposition, P.T. Anderson connects the dots for the viewer in the story without being overbearing, and the twists and turns he takes us thru (notably the always wimpy Kevin J. O’Connor’s entrance into the fray), show how Plainview goes from being an overambitious businessman to a cold-hearted murdering bastard who will do anything to make another buck. Day-Lewis’ Oscar win was well-deserved, and unlike Gangs Of New York, where he had to share the spotlight with the inept DiCaprio and the pathetic Cameron Diaz (which probably cost him the win then), here he IS the whole show, and commands the screen while playing a detestable excuse for a human being. The film does at times wear the viewer out with its length(not to mention being a period piece centering around one major character), but is ultimately rewarding thanks in many ways to that ending. Unlike No Country, which shifted gears late in the game to bring us to an unsatisfying conclusion, Anderson shows us clearly that EVERY scene here leads up to this and ultimately plays out like a Christian allegory (man of God renounces his faith for profit and instead pays the Ultimate price). All in all, certainly not an uplifting film, but one which makes you think instead of having a character decide that he’s too old for this shit…
9/10