What is going on between Paul and Daniel?

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2009)

I am writing without reading other comments. This movie I very much wanted to see, as the moments in 2007 quickly passed, and now in March of 2009 it is on Cable! The technical delivery of this movie to me was by way of time warner cable which offers it "on demand" in a cropped 4x3 condition. They broadcast it elsewhere, I think, in its full frame version, and I have seen portions of it then, including the ending conversation which I was disappointed to discover was not to occur outdoors, but in a windowless hell. "God damn hell of a show" figures prominently in my memory. It is not clear the level of silliness we're dealing with here. It could be very deep. I found distraction from my own flashback of when I discovered a little bowling alley in the cellar of a nondescript building in the beautiful Austrian Alps! Mr. Anderson also made Boogie Nights, which was impressively delivered cinema... I think he made magnolia, which apocalyptically delivered Aimee Mann's beautiful music. There Will Be Blood contained minimum surprises, when you come down to what the locals can expect from entrepreneurs, and preachers. The maverick's self-interest predominates and is suicidal. He needs a real family to keep him in reality. As the ending explodes into dignified music reprising that annoyingly used string quartet, after the clattering radiohead score, Daniel has just announced, "I'm finished." Will he in fact be held accountable for murder? Will standard oil get his pipeline? This movie could have been more educational, in case we actually want to start our own oil rig. Prospectors go mad... I'm reminded of Eureka, a Nicholas Roeg film, which was able to include women, that made a meta-medical analysis of the gold strike. I'm trying to think what I liked about this film. It may be the relationship between Paul and Daniel, the actors. The emotions neutralized in this film include love, hatred, ambition, and empathy. To witness more of how indelibly frightening Daniel Day Lewis can be, try Gangs of New York. Paul has quite a range as well, especially the way he pretended he actually had a brother.