A Milestone for Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2008)

It has been quite a while since I saw a film in theaters that I can truly and honestly say, struck me very profoundly in its impact and epic scope. 'There Will Be Blood' completely blew me away when I first saw it and along with 'No Country for Old Men', can arguably be considered as one of the masterpieces of film-making produced this past year. It has the essential elements of a great film in the making and I see that in the future, this movie will be considered as one of Paul Thomas Anderson's greatest achievements.
'There Will Be Blood' is essentially a character-driven film telling the story of Daniel Plainview, a prospector turned wealthy oilman in the early 1900's, and the life-changing events that occur during a 30-year period of his life. It traces the rise and eventual fall from grace of Plainview through the story of his success as an oilman and of the multitude of characters around him such as his son, HW Plainview (Dillon Freasier) and the preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). The movie explores a variety of themes that are as relevant today as they were during the time of Daniel Plainview's rise to fame and fortune at the turn of the 20th century. Greed, ambition, affection, religion, American capitalism, family tradition, trust and other themes dominate the movie in its attempt to unearth how each of these things drive a man in his existence and how it affects his view and perception of life, whether for good or for worse. This is a very ambitious undertaking for a film-maker, since a film of great scope and intention demands a very high level of creativity and artistic vision to fully be realized. In this aspect the movie is very nearly a masterpiece, it gets its strengths from its great ambitions as a motion picture; though it can also be said that this deep "well" may very well be the same thing that betrays its weaknesses. Nevertheless, Paul Thomas Anderson still manages to pull it off with grace and great impact. His movie influences can be seen throughout the film and Anderson effectively uses these to remarkable effect as transformed and merged into his own style.
While the writing, art direction and editing are all top notch, several aspects of the film deserve to be singled out for their masterful execution. The cinematography of the movie (by Robert Elswit) is probably the best I've seen this year. The way landscapes and big sceneries are photographed completely capture the essence and feel of the times while the lighting of the actors and their particular scenes enhance the emotional impact and weight of the movie. The musical score is, I must say, very effective, original in its approach and the best use of music in recent memory in a dramatic film to evoke emotion and stir the audience. Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) has produced a very rich and emotion-laden score which the audiences will find captivating and essential to the whole viewing experience of the movie.
But above all these, the dominating factor in the presentation of the movie is the remarkable performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as the progressively becoming obsessed, paranoid and deranged Daniel Plainview. I have never seen a stronger performance and/or a more realized character as brought out in the screen as Lewis' take on Plainview. The movie has become all the more striking because of Lewis' credible and amazing performance. Even if you're not a fan of these kinds of movies, see 'There Will Be Blood' for Lewis' performance and I'm sure that his haunting portrayal of Plainview will stay with you for days, if not weeks, after seeing the movie.
All in all, 'There Will Be Blood' is a remarkable film having the elements of a great cinematic achievement. It is my favorite movie of 2007 and while I think it is not the best (No Country for Old Men is delivered better and stronger on certain levels), it deserves the praise and acclaim it has gotten so far.