There are no words...

Rating: 10/10 (6 February 2008)

It is exceedingly rare in this day and age to come across a film which brings credence to the cliché "taking your breath away", and actually knocks the viewer flat to the point of being lost for words when attempting to capture the essence of the film. Such an experience seems to happen once or twice a decade at best, with the release of a film whose quality is undeniable, whose image is seared into the collective unconscious, and yet proves elusive in terms of putting down into mere words. Such a film is the latest staggering achievement by writer/ director Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood - a work whose sheer masterful command of the cinematic form knocks the viewer flat like a forceful physical impact, as they sit, entranced and utterly absorbed by the spectacle unfolding in front of them.
It staggers the mind to think that There Will Be Blood is only director Paul Thomas Anderson's fifth feature length film, as his incomparable command of his medium suggests decades of experience. Adapting the novel "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair, Anderson has crafted an odyssey of greed, ambition, spirituality, family, and the subversion of all of the above, all centered around the quest of a turn of the century oil tycoon (Daniel Day-Lewis) struggling to make it big. But in the end, despite the immaculately detailed and informative journey of oil prospecting, the essence of the film could be boiled down to an age old sparring between faith and human greed and ambition, and Anderson's pitch perfect screenplay captures such underlying themes in an overwhelmingly affecting fashion.
But despite the film's lengthy running time and frequent slow, moody segments, the palpable tension throughout is enough to keep any viewer utterly immersed within the perversely affecting story unfolding in front of them. While such length in a lesser film might be considered self indulgent, Anderson refuses to simply tell the story of a man, and instead engages in an epic voyage of both the triumph of man's spirit, and the decline of his soul - and for every last moment, from the near silent opening twenty minutes to the flooring, astoundingly powerful climax, the film effortlessly captivates and draws the viewer in to the dark realism of the time. From the impeccable period detail, to the sublime beauty of the expansive countrysides to the harsh, dank grit of the oil wells, Anderson shows an astounding ability to immerse the viewer within his film - one can almost smell the oil and feel the rush of flame scorching the air. Similarly, the hauntingly beautiful score by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood would normally seem more fitting in a horror movie than a period drama, but strangely enough, it perfectly compliments the eerie and tremendously unsettling tone of the entire film, matching the slow burning tension exquisitely.
If there was ever any doubt as to the unbelievable proficiency of Daniel Day-Lewis, his staggering masterclass of a performance here is enough to dispel it. The sheer force and spellbinding intensity Day-Lewis radiates seems to sear through the screen, bringing nihilistic and ferociously ambitious oil prospector Daniel Plainview to life in a disconcertingly realistic fashion. Present in every single scene of the film, Plainview is a truly astounding character: a self described "family man" who abandons his adopted son, seeing him as an "inconvenience"; a humanitarian who threatens to murder the local pastor, and whose all consuming hatred for those around him and incessant greed and lust for conquest. Plainview is not a villain strictly speaking, but is more despicable and blood-churning than any villain could be, all the more so by the fact that despite his slew of abominable qualities he still captures the audience's sympathies right to the end of his sordid tale. Seldom in the history of the medium has a singular performance proved so incendiary, and Day-Lewis deserves every bit of recognition thrown his way.
Similarly, rising star Paul Dano easily holds his own against the titan that is Day-Lewis as a young, frighteningly charismatic preacher waging spiritual war against the unapologetically malevolent Plainview, and the fact that Dano's staggering portrait of a struggling young man has been overlooked by the Academy is simply unforgivable. While the majority of the focus is on the overwhelming power of the film's lead two actors, Kevin J. O'Conner and Cirarán Hinds give strong support, as does young Dillon Freasier in his film debut as Plainview's stoic son.
Despite many heartfelt efforts (including this one), no words can truly capture the impact of Anderson's stunning work. Suffice to say the film easily deserves every last bit of praise bestowed upon it, and more, as every last intricate piece meld together to form an utterly flawless and tremendously powerful piece of work. There Will Be Blood is not so much simply a film as an impeccable crafted work of art, an experience which merits viewing by any in search of astronomically powerful cinema or those wishing to see what is sure to become a modern classic in the making.
-10/10