A bit self-indulgent but quite engrossing at times.

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2008)

In his director commentary track on Boogie Nights (still his masterpiece in my books) Paul Thomas Anderson talked about making the movie for himself. No pandering - no compromises. I applaud that approach from any artist, but it seems that Paul gets WAY more "into" certain scenes, & sub-plots than I ever will be! I would usually pick a "director's cut" in a heartbeat, but with this director, maybe a "studio-mandated cut" could be a good thing.
PTA always gets off to a roaring start and this film is no exception! I found the first three quarters to be utterly fascinating. The silver mining scenes established a sense of toil like nothing else I've ever seen. The desert landscape becomes a potent if silent character. And the score was very refreshing (in a bleak, psychotic sort of way). For 2 hours, I was transported.
HERE"S THE SPOILER I really didn't care for the epilogue. It seemed disjointed, melodramatic and redundant. Daniel beating Eli to death seemed to me like a metaphor for the storyteller beating this story to death. OKAY, Danny's a sociopath, WE GET IT!!
Don't get me wrong. I'm still a Paul Thomas Anderson fan and Daniel Day-Lewis was undeniably superb. The film was exceptional but not iconic in the way so many reviewers would have one believe.