An absolute masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2008)

There Will Be Blood is an amazing piece of work. P. T. Anderson has created a film so far beyond his earlier work that it can scarcely be believed to come from the same filmmaker. The performance of Daniel Day-Lewis is one for the ages. He appears in every scene of the movie, but he has such a ferocious presence that, for two and a half hours, you can't take your eyes off him.
This is certainly no popcorn movie. The teenagers won't be flocking to the multiplex for this one. It's so relentlessly grim and dark that I doubt it will do a great deal at the box office, but, for my money, it's easily the best film of 2007. This battle between capitalism and religion is truly a clash of the titans. The protagonist's journey from greedy obsession to madness is, in the hands of Anderson and Day-Lewis, simply astounding. The ending seems to have a love-it-or-hate-it quality. I thought it was a perfect ending, and I don't understand why some don't think it works. After seeing this film, I wish Anderson and Day-Lewis worked more often, but this masterpiece was well worth the wait.