There will be a Mr. Anderson ...

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2009)

When one of the finest filmmakers teams up with one of the most accomplished actors of our times, you know you're in for something unique.
P.T. Anderson has made us wait far too long since his last feature, Punch Drunk Love (2002), as has Daniel Day Lewis, (only one indie film since Gangs of New York). Intelligently cautious about selecting their projects, Anderson wooed Lewis to his script based upon Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil! A title the film kept while shooting. The current title is a little deceptive, as the blood refers to the relationship between father and son which makes up the core of this film and not greed versus faith as the marketing would have us believe.
Daniel Plainview (Lewis) is an oil man, something he is proud of and yet has isolated himself from the world in order to follow his dreams. When the world catches up, unexpected interactions come into play. Like Faust, Plainview loses more of himself as his wealth increases.
This is a fascinating story in the vein of 'Giant', a rare dramatic background of oil drilling, though this is more reminiscent of Citizen Kane than anything else.
Anderson, perhaps all too aware of the similarities, steers clear of the journey of a tycoon, whose soul is slowly shedding and strips it back to mere one on one interactions, unlike his previous films such as Magnolia where numerous characters shift across the screen in a lush tapestry. Indeed, much of the action takes place outdoors, in isolated settings and this is no coincidence. Anderson knows what he wants and he expresses it; Plainview with his son, with his brother, with his young mirror image, the evangelist, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). Daniel Day Lewis is the showman and Anderson gives him the stage.
Anderson's style is dominant, his trademark long steadicam shots, tracking in and out of poignant character moments and a stunning soundtrack by Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood, (sadly overlooked by the Oscars), which brings attention to itself but that's the point. Anderson has always favored a heavy soundtrack, the odd effects of Punch Drunk, the disco tunes in Boogie Nights, and the Aimee Mann laded Magnolia.
Blood is a remarkable actor's film, delving deep into theatrical tradition. You can almost hear the 'Rosebudian' whispers of Orson Welles as he spies the black seeping up from the desert with fascination and the subsequent malevolence it inflicts on those that are near it.