Close to perfect

Rating: 10/10 (24 February 2008)

I had very big expectations going into this film, being a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, and it absolutely met them. First off, Daniel-Day Lewis is as good as advertised, and he absolutely deserved to win best actor at the Oscars. For 98% of the film, he controls every scene, handling a challenging role with the superb confidence only a spectacular actor like him could. Also, I felt Paul Dano did a very good job as Eli Sunday, especially considering that he's going up against Daniel-Day Lewis, and he only had four days to prepare for the role. As always, Paul Thomas Anderson's direction is great, as he sets the tone for the entire film very well. The script is also very well done, and handles its themes carefully without upstaging the rest of the film, like some politically-conscious films of the past few years have (Crash, Babel, etc.). All in all, There Will Be Blood is a spectacular film.