Worth a Watch

Rating: 9/10 (27 November 2016)

This movie is not what I expected it to be. It is a long movie about 2 and a half hours long, this allows Paul Thomas Anderson to go in depth with the characters that Upton Sinclair created. Daniel Day Lewis's character, Daniel Plainview, is the main character in this story. He can defiantly be called the antagonist of the film. You may also argue that the society in which the movie is placed is the main antagonist. Some may even venture to say that Lewis's character has many anti-hero characteristics. What makes movies like this great is that the character arc is subjective to the viewer. I would say that Daniel's journey through the movie displays what he really was the whole time. Even though most viewers could have been surprised by the ending, the events leading up to the end show the way Plainview expresses his feelings with no filter. I do not like saying movies have turning points, climaxes, or general shifts, but there are many points in this film when the morals and ethics of Daniel are shown. Movies like this are very rarely are done so well, but this does the job. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the director, or the period it is set in.