It Will Be Over (Someday)

Rating: 5/10 (27 February 2009)

The stars are for Daniel Day-Lewis' excellent performance, and for the captivating cinematography. There is essentially no story.
The movie meanders on about the creation of an oil prospecting business and the colorless men who form it. We have Plainview, the Day-Lewis character. A focused but depraved drunkard who is a crackerjack wildcatter and businessman. There is nothing to like about Plainview, nor is he very interesting.
The young preacher, Eli, who apparently never ages past his teens, and is about as obnoxious as can be. A stranger who claims to be Plainview's lackluster brother turns out to be a fraud, as is the handicapped 'son', albeit a more tolerable soul.
The score or soundtrack seems truly inappropriate and overbearing at times, and some scenes are allowed to go on long past their relevance. The story, if it can be said to actually be a story, goes nowhere for hours, and then on to one of the most absurd endings seen in a major movie.
Disappointing!