‘There Will Be Blood’ a gritty, dramatic movie
“There Will Be Blood” is a well-crafted, gripping drama loosely based upon Upton Sinclair’s 1926 novel “Oil!”
From the opening scene until the last line of dialogue the audience is drawn slowly, deliberately down the path of unchecked human greed and ambition to the destruction that ultimately accompanies ruthless determination.
“Blood” is the fifth movie from director Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia”) and it is by far the best.
Intense, gritty, and dark the acting, cinematography, and score are all interwoven in meticulous fashion.
The film begins in 1898 in the bottom of a mine-shaft in Texas, but quickly transitions to the oil fields of California.
The story spans a 30-year time period during the early days of the oil industry, but the movie is not ultimately about the oil industry. It is about the rise and fall of Daniel Plainview.
Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance as Daniel Plainview is truly mesmerizing.
As with anything it is control of the little things that really make a difference and Day-Lewis’s control of the smaller parts of his role are what make the whole package so complete.
His facial expressions, speech patterns and seething raw emotion allow him to assume the role with an authority, an entirety that is truly amazing.
Through Day-Lewis’s eyes and his mannerisms, we are allowed to see into the soul of Plainview, which seems as black and as explosive as the oil that he drills for.
Throughout the movie Plainview is seemingly consumed by tension, perpetually ready to explode into an animalistic rage.
Although at times he is reserved, this is only if it will help him get what he wants. Always the viewer can see the monster in his eyes—greedy, insatiable and unstoppable.
“I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed….”
With these words, Daniel Plainview best describes himself: a driven, obsessive man who alienates everyone around him and ultimately destroys the world that he creates.
The movie, while spectacular, is not necessarily easy viewing with a running time of approximately two and a half hours.
It requires that the audience pay attention and wait for the story to be told.
If you want an action flick, then go see Rambo, but if you want to see a great dramatic film go see “There Will Be Blood.”
Rating: A
—Scott Glidewell
Staff Writer
