A film for the ages

Rating: 10/10 (5 August 2009)

Granted, this film is not the greatest of all time for most, myself being one of the exceptions for this is my favorite film of all time. Opinions aside, this is a film that should be recognized in the highest regard when it comes to the technicality that went into its making for the attentions to detail are absolutely mind-blowing.
The Good: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Godly cinematography, wondrous editing, beautifully written script, a score that will have you on the edge of your seat.
The Bad: Not a very entertaining film, emotionally exhausting, drawn-out, a very boring film for those wishing to be entertained, stylistic film-making may be difficult for people to really admire unless they are willing to look into the film rather than the narrative of it.
This is a warning to any people who still haven't seen this film, watch it with caution because there are not that many entertaining aspects of this film that will really draw you into it aside from certain parts with very dark humor, among a couple of scenes where Daniel Day-Lewis truly shows his acting chops by putting on the performance of his career.
For those who have even the slightest background in analyzing films, or even have the will to look past the narrative, this is a must-see for any of you. The cinematography in this film is to absolutely die for. Robert Elswit truly deserved the Oscar for Best Cinematography because of his use of long-takes, panning shots, darkness and composition. On the acting front, Daniel Day-Lewis is truly phenomenal. The way he plays out his character, Daniel Plainview, a greed-possessed oil prospector at the turn of the century who is seeking to make a fortune in the oil industry, is unlike any other role I've ever seen before. The only role I can think of, which comes close to his caliber and depth into the mind of a composed psychopath is the late Heath Ledger's role as The Joker in the Dark Knight.
Day Lewis' role is an inspiration for actors everywhere, giving a superb performance and allowing them, as well as the audience an incredible insight into how far an actor/actress can push him/herself to create a character that doesn't simply exceed the role, but is in fact the creation of a complete body-mask that is so flawless, they could almost fool viewers into believing that this is how they truly are in their every day lives. His interpretation of Plainview brought the character to life and made the film seem as if it was a biographical documentary rather than a film based off of a fictional novel.
What is more on the acting front is the incredibly done supporting role as Eli Sunday by Paul Dano. His role as an up-and-coming priest of his own church, known as the Third Revalation is done well in sync with Day-Lewis' role. As far as the supporting role goes, he did a spot-on job in portraying a pious human being masking his own greed with religion, and thus, through his own methods, does his best to scam Plainview into giving him money for his church. The chemistry between Dano and Day-Lewis in this film is another example that actors should follow when it comes to creating a film with an other-worldly tension between two characters.
The last aspect to really touch upon because of how noticeable it is would be the score of the movie. For about half of the film, by an estimate, there is no score except for the truly climactic parts of the film that send the intensity of those scenes to a whole other level. In this writer's opinion, it is worthy of an Oscar nomination, at least. But, such will be Hollywood for it is far too unique to be compared along the lines with the orchestration of John Williams or the subtle, magical quality of Thomas Newman.
Overall, I found this film to be an incomparable experience that pushed me head-first into a world rich with oil, competition, betrayal, deceit and, as the film's name promises, blood. The name can be very misleading because it lets the people assume that there will be possibilities of gore or scenes of violent murder and such, which really isn't the case in this movie. There Will Be Blood is a film about an oil prospector fighting tooth-and-nail, stepping on whoever he has to in order to achieve his goal, while at the same time it is fictionally biographical, thanks to Day-Lewis' acting caliber, because it follows a single character around, briefly taking the focus away from him at times, as he goes through whatever he has to do to achieve his success.
The Ratings 10 out of 10 for film analysts 5 out of 10 for average film-goers over 18 2, 1, probably even 0 out of 10 for film-goers under 14 And finally, an incredibly biased 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 out of 10 for me because I loved this movie so flipping' much.
'Til next time, keep watching movies, my fellow movie lovers!! :)
Cyrus out!