Final section of the film damages what is other wise a great film

Rating: 6/10 (28 January 2008)

Story of Daniel Plainview a silver miner who switches to oil. The film charts the course of Plainview's life over 30 years as his fortunes rise and he descends into madness.
Going into the film I was carrying a great deal of baggage. The promise of a truly great film is tough thing to have to live up to. Hailed by many as a classic film on par with many of the cinema's greatest offerings I'm left to wonder if its all hyperbole since the film has barely been on view to the public for roughly a months time and true classics are created in the long term not the short. It will be for time to tell us if the film that has been fashioned here is the masterpiece or an also ran.
For me the film is very good, but I found it considerably less than the "one of the greatest films" that the film has been handed by some critics. To be certain the film is excellent on almost every level technically. It is sterling achievement of the film maker's art. The problem for me is that the film falls apart in the final stretch and collapses into simplicity in the final scene. Its rather hard to discuss this with out going into detail, something that may or may not ruin things if you haven't seen the film. Since I don't want to spoil anything I'm going to choose not to discuss things other then to say the denouncement did not work for me and in a way renders most of what happens prior less than it seemed.
I do think that the film is worth seeing. I just think it's not the be all and end all or recent American cinema.
8.5 to 1927, considerably less after that. 6.5 over all