Evil has never been so fun.

Rating: 10/10 (15 August 2008)

If Heath Ledger's joker is the embodiment of demented Sadism, Day-Lewis' Plainview is the image of pure, cold-as-steel malevolence. This film is dripping in black brilliance and is purely contingent on the genius that Day-Lewis provides. And this film is not so much a statement of the times (though the connections are unavoidable) as it is a dark characterization of the human condition. Plainview embarks on a downward trek into moral and spiritual bankruptcy and the barren wasteland of the southwest, juxtaposed with the seething images of nighttime blazes and oceans of oil only add to the brooding sensation running amuck throughout the film. In addition to the flawless cinematography, Jonny Greenwood reinvents what a musical score can be, adding to the emphasis that this film is nothing but bare bones, unbridled sinister symphony. This is Citizen Kane from the bottom floor of Hell and I dare say one of the best lead performances in film history. Definitely one of the very best of the decade.