Oh Yes, There Will Be Blood

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2008)

Winner of two Academy Awards for Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Cinematography, "There Will Be Blood" is based upon the 1927 novel "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair and takes place in California during the early 20th century with an oil prospector making his fortune. Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis), the aforementioned oilman, is a shrewd businessman and sees death early on as a part of life in the industry but it is only after he is challenged by a deceptive evangelist does death go from inadvertent to unmistakably discriminate.
In a cacophonous mix of cutthroat business and zealous religion, a war is instigated when a young man named Paul Sunday (Dano) comes to Daniel and offers to point him in the direction of a surefire fortune in exchange for a handsome sum. Paul's hometown village of "Little Boston" is a figurative gold mine, the family farm and the hundreds of miles surrounding it an untapped wealth of crude oil. Under the guise of pheasant hunting enthusiasts, Daniel and his son H.W. (Freasier) start investigating the property and their suspicions are quickly confirmed. Within no time, a deal is on the table but Paul's twin brother Eli (Dano), a local preacher, impedes the contract by not only demanding a generous portion of the proceeds but also the chance to expand his modest congregation. Hiding behind the façade of Christianity, he is motivated by greed, only to be unexpectedly matched by the cruelty and cunning of Daniel.
The film is more than deserved of both of its Oscars, namely Day-Lewis's riveting performance as Daniel Plainview, a man who is torn between the love for his son and his love for self-affluence (or so one thinks). The 52-year old Oscar winner's performance is matched by that of his 24-year old co-star Paul Dano as Eli Sunday. Though he was cast as both of the Sunday brothers, it is as the sanctimonious Eli that Dano makes a pointed connection with the audience. He is the character whom viewers love to hate, using religion to veil his egoism and his struggle for power, so much so that he aids in lending sympathy to Daniel, a man whose motivations are equally insatiate to his own.
Stunning cinematography comes courtesy of Robert Elswit, a man who served as director of photography for P.T. Anderson's much-discussed '99 film "Magnolia". Filmed in greater part in Marfa, Texas (neighboring with the cast and crew of "No Country For Old Men"), Elswit recreates and highlights the best of old California's sweeping vistas, its rustic mountain ranges, rolling hills and dry desert-like tundra the picture-perfect backdrop.
Paul Thomas Anderson has a short but unique body of work and this film has created the official apex of his career. It is also a sign that there will be many more interesting projects to come from this 38-year old writer/director/producer. Dusting off the ashes ten years after the outrageous cult favorite "Boogie Nights", "There Will Be Blood" is a definitive sign that this director has matured.
Out of a total of 10 stars, I give it a 9. I can only hope it will parallel to Joel and Ethan Cohen's magnum opus "No Country For Old Men".