There will be boredom

Rating: 6/10 (16 February 2008)

"There Will Be Blood" reminded me very much of "Gangs of New York," which also featured another scenery-eating performance by Daniel Day-Lewis. The cinematography is lush, the acting deep and the overall feel of the film majestic. But it is ultimately unsatisfying. The movie traces the life of a misanthropic loner who turns the American dream into a nightmare. Day-Lewis refers to himself as an oil man, and that's what he is. He lets nothing get in the way of getting what he wants, though we're never really sure what that is. Money isn't really the goal, as he turned down a deal offered by Standard Oil that would have made him a multi-millionaire. "What would I do?" he asks as he turns down the deal. No doubt, Day-Lewis is a masterful actor, adept at turning in performances of larger-than-life characters. I was disappointed, however, in the Eli Sunday character, as played by Paul Dano, who was so good in "Little Miss Sunshine." It's unfortunate that a movie often praised as being iconoclastic reverts to the tired stereotype of the hypocritical, self-aggrandizing preacher. And, frankly, Dano's performance is somewhat lacking in nuance. The movie meanders over 2 1/2 hours before crashing to a jarring end. "I am finished," Day-Lewis's character pronounces. He should have said that about an hour earlier.