A masterpiece. THIS is powerful film-making.

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 2008)

From the first frame, where Jonny Greenwood's powerful score is married to the stark, barren beauty of the desert landscape of southern California, to the very last, in a blood soaked bowling alley, this film grabbed me hard, and never let me go.
No film has ever effected me quite the way There Will Be Blood did. After the film was over I sat there and stared at the credits as they rolled by, then when they were over I got up and walked out of the auditorium. I felt like I was drifting, disconnected from reality. I can not explain it better than that. I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to say, I didn't even know if I wanted to move. The first time I saw Magnolia I wept through the credits, after There Will Be Blood, I watched the credits as filled with rage. This feeling of rage I can not explain either, I wasn't mad at the film, I knew I loved the film from the first fifteen minutes of it, I have no idea why I was so filled with rage, however, slowly over the duration of the credits, my rage subsided into nothing. Like I said, no other film has ever effected me like that, and confused my very emotions. THIS is powerful film-making.
After Magnolia and There Will Be Blood, and his other films which were great in different ways (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Punch Drunk Love) I have no problem with putting Paul Thomas Anderson up there with Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and D.W. Griffith. As one of the people who have changed American cinema. There Will Be Blood is ahead of it's time. I have never seen another film quiet like There Will Be Blood, and I do believe that it will have a profound effect on cinema. Paul Thomas Anderson is the best writer around today, not to mention the best director. There Will Be Blood is perfect down to every single tiny detail. He is a genius.
Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a performance that is nothing short of the best performance I have ever seen on screen. He is a powerhouse. The subtle nuances of his performance are so natural and minute, that they are easy to miss at times. Daniel Plainview is not only an absolute, but a very rich character. Daniel Day-Lewis nails every scene, every line, every word. His performance in this film is nothing short of an evolution of acting. You can now imagine what kind of pressure this put on Paul Dano to perform in the supporting role, and perform he did. I thought his performance would be good, but not that good. Eli Sunday is a snake and Paul Dano embodies it perfectly, from his screaming, screeching sermons, to his disturbingly innocent smile, Paul Dano nails it. Dillon Freasier is as good as child actors come. Most child actors are pretty shitty, so I was naturally apprehensive, but pleasantly surprised in the end. He is very quiet as HW Plainview, but his emotions are still portrayed with the clarity of a veteran actor. Kevin J O'Connor is also great as Henry Plainview. The rest of the cast is tremendous as well. There is not a single weak performance in this film.
The cinematography by Robert Elswit and Paul Thomas Anderson is beautiful. The best cinematography in a film since American Beauty. Enough said. The editing by Dylan Tichenor is great. He knows when to linger on a shot that is particularly beautiful, and it never seems slow-paced. The score by Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) is powerful, unsettling, and beautiful all at the same time. The best score in a film since Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty. Once again, enough said. One of the most amazing things about this film is the Production Design by Jack Fisk every single set is a work of art. One of my favorite things about this film is the color. Ninety-nine percent of the color in the film is very bland blacks, browns, and the like. The only things that stand out in great contrast are the blood and the oil fire. Brilliant.
There Will Be Blood is a triumph of modern film-making. It is perfect in every single conceivable way, especially the ending. It is a masterpiece. I am sure that even if it doesn't win the Oscars it deserves this year, it will someday be recognized by many people to be one of the greatest films ever made, which would only increase it's likenesses to Citizen Kane. In short: There Will Be Blood is the best film I have ever seen.