Epic movie, the oil boom, and Day-Lewis shows why he may the best ever.

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2008)

The story begins in the late 1800s and continues into the 20th century. It starts out about mining for gold, but quickly shifts to the oil boom.
Daniel Day-Lewis is Daniel Plainview, prospecting alone, finding small amounts of gold, but his big break, serendipitous for sure, comes when a heavy metal cylinder of ore falls to the bottom of his vertical mine shaft and breaks open the ground to expose oozing oil. Plainview is smart and ruthless and quickly changes his focus to the "black gold", oil, which he knows will make him richer quicker.
As his drilling technique and wells start to pay out, unfortunate accidents result in deaths. One of them orphans a young boy, which Plainview begins to call his son and takes along with him. At first we think he is just kind-hearted but we eventually find out is was just part of his approach to get the cooperation of others and to help him buy up cheap land that appears to have oil reserves under it.
The second major character is Paul Dano as Paul Sunday who approaches Plainview with information, for a price, that will yield much oil. It turns out that "Paul" is really Eli Sunday, local preacher, who wants the money for his church. (It isn't clear if Paul and Eli are identical twins, or Paul is an alter-ego of Eli, but it doesn't matter for the story.) So the long movie, almost 3 hours, traces the life of these two strong-willed men, who have a number of very dramatic encounters.
Plainview is ruthless, he does whatever it takes to get at the oil he wants. He also has an anti-social, confrontational streak that shows itself often. Yet when he wants something, land and oil, he can be most charming. Day-Lewis was awarded "Best Actor" for this role and it was well-deserved. He is the main reason to see this movie.