Paul Thomas Anderson's Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2014)

Not everyone will like There Will Be Blood. Some will describe it as a boring movie without much story. I don't know if I'd say that there really is a story behind There Will Be Blood. I'd rather describe it as one of the most gripping, interesting portrayals I've ever seen.
There Will Be Blood is a character study. It shows us a man full of greed and disgust for humanity. A hypocrite who pretends to care for other human beings but who, in fact, just drills for oil to enrich himself.
Paul Thomas Anderson wrote a magnificent screenplay and his direction is perfect. Jonny Greenwood's score contributes a lot to keep a dark atmosphere throughout the whole movie and the cinematography is breathtaking.
But what shines out the most in this amazing movie is Daniel Day-Lewis' astonishing portrayal of Daniel Plainview. I've seen some of the greatest male performances ever. De Niro in Raging Bull, Brando in On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire, Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But if I had to pick the best performance of all time I'd pick Day- Lewis in There Will Be Blood. This isn't just a performance. It's an absolutely versatile transformation. Everyone who has seen Daniel Day-Lewis in another movie knows that he always transforms himself into his characters. But his Daniel Plainview is on another level. Its a character with many facets and its sometimes impossible to see through him or to know what's really going on in his mind.
The performance could have easily lead to nothing else than annoying overacting. But Daniel Day-Lewis knows when he has to scream and he knows when he has to be subtle. His manipulative voice is creepy and his staring, menacing look can be somehow ominous.
But we will learn that this is not a man without emotions although he doesn't want to admit that. Even if he isn't always the best father, he cares for his son. He wants to hide that, he doesn't want to confess to his feelings, but they exist.
It would be easy to fade next to this multi-faceted performance, but Paul Dano is a worthy opponent. He plays the religious Eli Sunday who seems to be the only one who questions Plainview's intentions what leads into a dangerous power game.
Paul Thomas Anderson's shows us hauntingly to what greed can lead and which values some people abandon in order to be powerful and rich. This is one of the best movies of the 21st century and one of only few movies of this century which can call themselves a masterpiece.