Best Movie of 2007

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2008)

I write this review rejoicing over the fact Daniel Day-Lewis has received the 2007 Oscar for Best Leading Actor. I wish the movie had won more: not having seen No Country For Old Men yet, I rooted for There Will Be Blood all the way. There hasn't been in recent memory a movie that has excelled on so many levels: the writing, acting, editing, cinematography, score, and art direction are just perfect. And on top of technical perfection, this movie is infinitely enjoyable.
With a runtime of 160 minutes, it's incredible how two hours and a half pass by just like that. There Will Be Blood is violent, funny, heartwarming, and absurd. It grabs you and doesn't let go; there are just too many things to hold your attention: Day-Lewis' superb acting as Daniel Plainview, a self-made, ruthless oilman determined to have everything. Helping Day-Lewis was an enviable cast, including Ciarán Hinds, Dillon Freasier and Kevin J. O'Connor. Emphasis goes to Paul Dano, who delivers a performance on par with the one in Little Miss Sunshine. His role as Eli Sunday, an evangelist who struggles to manipulate Plainview for his divine crusade, is great! The conflict between Plainview and Eli throughout the movie is a treat to watch: two equally ruthless men with a craving for power, each trying to have the upper hand over the other. Needless to say the conclusion is bloody.
Then there's the dialogue: I savored every line, every conversation, every speech, every outburst by Plainview. There are entire dialogues that you'll never forget. If Paul Thomas Anderson deserved an Oscar for this movie, it was for the screenplay.
Helping the movie is also Jonny Greenwood's eerie score: I don't know how to explain it, but every time one of his tunes was played, it just took the movie to another level. And then we have Robert Elswit's Oscar-winning cinematography. His work impressed me for its use of unusual angles and long takes, turning small scenes in the movie suspenseful and unique.
The Academy wasn't kind to There Will Be Blood. However I don't think Anderson's movie will need many Oscars to stand the test of time. Day-Lewis' performance is enough to grant it a place in history. But this is a cinematic masterpiece, on the same league as Letters of Iwo Jima and City of God, to be enjoyed in the years to come by millions of film lovers.