Mesmerizing and haunting...

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2008)

Mesmerizing...haunting...brilliant! The disturbing dissonance of the score is nothing short of masterful. Not enough can be said about Daniel Day Lewis' performance. I've never seen an actor carry off the "ruthless, win-at-all-costs" type of character as flawlessly as Lewis has in his portrayal of Daniel Plainview. To be able to keep me wondering "is there anything redeeming about this character? Yesthere it is! Oh, nothere isn'toh, yes, there is!" And then, "OH NO!" again. In fact, each and every actor succeeded in drawing me in to their gritty, desperate world. I was particularly impressed with the performance of the Realtor in Little Boston. His every movement was timed with precision and authenticity. Back to the music  which somewhat defies description, as it is both extremely unsettling and grotesquely beautiful. I was in awe of the score the whole way through.
I love it when a movie has me feeling the characters all around me for days later. No lie, I actually feel like I've been to Little Boston myself, in all of its gritty desperation.