There Will Be Blood

Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood

The saga of American oil entrepreneur Daniel Plainview begins in 1898, when he finds oil in his silver mine in New Mexico, and digs his first oil well.

A few years later he has built a small empire and his adopted young son, H.W, is forever at his side.
One day, a creepy young man convinces Plainview to invest in an oil-soaked land in Little Boston, California, inhabited by a deeply religious community.

There he meets fanatic preacher and healer Eli Sunday, who will become his worst enemy. In a crescendo of greed and violence, Plainview erases all affection from his heart, including H.W.’s – but a bitter surprise awaits him at the top of his power…

Paul Thomas Anderson makes a long-awaited comeback with this story of greed and hate. But forget about the messianic atmosphere, meaningful speeches, hovering camera movements typical of his cinema – which made him both adored by his followers and despised by detractors who called him patronizing and rhetoric.

This time around, Anderson wisely leaves the story speak for itself, which makes it all the more effective and scary.

Daniel Day-Lewis is superb in the main role and offers an amazingly nuanced portrait of a misanthropic man obsessed with power; but young Paul Dano is equally subtle as the uncanny, raging mad preacher.

Their interplay grows more and more violent, psychological pressure gives way to physical abuse. And of course, the relationship between oil, economic power and religious fanatism has scary parallels to today’s situation.

An amazing film from all points of view, this work also features a truly original soundtrack by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood: melody is scarcely used, as to signify Plainview’s dry heart; on the contrary, a rich texture of strings and abstract sounds (among which the Martenot Waves) lies underneath the heavy dialogue, building a disquieting atmosphere.

Clearly the best contender for this year’s Academy Award as Best Film, There Will Be Blood is the first masterwork of 2008


 

Rating

• add to del.icio.us
• digg this article!