Not the Masterpiece Critics Claimed it to Be!

Rating: 5/10 (4 April 2011)

An oilman's quest for the American dream that spans 30 years slowly turns into a bad ego trip in this loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair's "Oil!". Paul Thomas Anderson's usually a master storyteller, and a great director, too. However, he doesn't quite do as well this time around, and the film doesn't live up to the critical hype, therefore making it overrated. Some moments work, others just... drag, rendering the viewer as to not give a crap what's going on. On the bright side, Daniel Day-Lewis does an over-the-top performance that ultimately won him another Oscar, its look fits the period, the music is stirring, and there's some intense parts. But, as a whole, it doesn't satisfy, give us a big payoff for spending 2 1/2 hours watching this, or bother to be more entertaining. It's a relatively tough film to watch, but you don't feel rewarded for doing so. You don't have to sit through this film to understand the nature of greedy people like Daniel Plainview; you might have somebody in your family like that. If not, just watch better movies about their rises and their falls.