Tremendous

Rating: 10/10 (1 March 2008)

I can't think of another movie I've seen in several years that had me in its grip so completely from beginning to end. We've heard about what great work Daniel Day Lewis does. He well deserves the Oscar. But when will there be an Oscar for casting? Every single person in every single scene with him rises to the occasion and matches Lewis pitch perfect note for pitch perfect note. Unlike historical dramas from other decades, the crowd scenes look as if Anderson took his camera back a hundred years. Someone coming upon stills from the film would think that they were just crowd photographs from the early 1900's.
The one thing I found very peculiar is that this is rated R. Huh? I'm a Southern Baptist who regularly votes Republican. But if I'd come upon this film cold without knowing the rating I'd have guessed G or maybe PG because there's the mildest of profanity (damn is used a few times), no sex, no nudity, and the violence is appropriately handled for the situation and very restrained. That this should have the same rating as HOSTEL or THE HILLS HAVE EYES is worse than ridiculous.