Great epic tale of a post-frontier oil tycoon

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2008)

(Earlier made the mistake in this review of calling this a Coen Bros film; was thinking of No Country For Old Men, another great one. Sorry for the mistake; correction made)
You might have thought Day-Lewis' character Plainview was just "plain" nuts in his desperate search for oil and he was, but most fantastically successful businessmen of olden days(some today too) were ruthless, heartless competitors who not only wanted to win, they wanted to bury the competition just as Plainview did. He was a certain type of harsh man perhaps more common in that day and time than now, but in contrast, he could also appear to be a regular family man and father and could be downright friendly in his own direct businesslike way of holding town meetings in which he gently but persuasively tried to convince landowners to sell or lease their land to him for oil exploration. And, he was mostly fair to them in what he paid for their oil rights. He was totally paranoid within his mental illness, but he was a very good businessman and fabulously successful in what he did.
This very different and fascinating film was at times hard to watch as it kept us upset and anxious throughout, always trying to figure out the madman Plainview and what harsh thing he would do next. On the one hand, so loving and affectionate to his non-threatening,(stolen-not-adopted) sweet young son, but so ruthless and killer-hateful to that same son when grown and wrongly perceived as a competitor. So single-mindedly driven in his search for oil, so crazy-minded when anyone threatened, or even maybe threatened, what he wanted to do to get all the oil and win everything while utterly crushing the competition. He was a self admitted people hater, and showed that immense hate whenever any disagreement with what he wanted arose. What a study in contrasts he was, and Day-Lewis made him one of the most interesting film characters in ages with his spot-on, brilliant portrayal of this madly-obsessed fortune hunter.
(A side note: when someone so outstanding in their field displays their immense talent and skill, it is a wonder and honor for us to watch, and Day-Lewis is that person in films today, as was Hopkins in his prime, and of course, Brando. Pacino, Sean Penn, and P.S. Hoffman might also be placed in that rare atmosphere today.)
Blood was such a special and uniquely made film, with many starkly lonely, but very effective mining country shots and a deeply brooding classical score contributing much to the special overall strangeness. As the young Plainview explored for his first oil discovery, we saw only him digging in his mine, with no spoken words for the first 15 minutes or so, to mesmerizing effect...when was the last time you saw(did not hear)that in a film? And Day-Lewis...what more can be said about his talent that has not been said? This much can be added.....see him every time you can as there have been few in his talent realm in the entire history of film. He is of greatness.
If I had my second thoughts as Anderson, the filmmaker, I might have ended this harsh story about 15 minutes before the actual end, or eased the ending a bit. But, that would have been a mistake, as the ending used did so accurately show the horror that a driven and deranged person is capable of doing to another when a slight done even many decades earlier is still felt hotly burning within and crying out for the worst possible revenge.
See this film for a great epic story of early-day, American empire building, and to get to know the type of man who did much of it a hundred-plus years ago, and may still do it in today's world(Bill Gates?).
Also, read J.P. Morgan's biography or that of Henry Ford if you think Plainview's character was pure fiction. It happened.