Daniel Day-Lewis does a great job playing a maniacal and, shall I say, oily character

Rating: 9/10 (17 April 2008)

I had heard about what a great movie "There Will Be Blood" is. A friend of my family said that she didn't really like the movie, but described a certain sound in it.
Well, now that I've seen the movie, there are a few things that I can say about it. First, Daniel Day-Lewis does a great job playing the completely maniacal, amoral, self-aggrandizing oil magnate Daniel Plainview. Second, Plainview's speech about how he'll bring all the modern amenities to the small town; that brings to mind the fact that the whole American west now does have all those things...they put all these things in the middle of the desert, prompting everyone to use a lot of water, resulting in water shortages. Third, the subject of petroleum calls to mind present-day international politics. Finally, I would say that Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano each individually are better than the movie as a whole (not to diminish the film).
Probably the most intense scene is the final segment: there's what Plainview does to his son and then to Paul Sunday (or is it Eli?). All in all, it not only adds up to a very good movie, but Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia") is showing himself to be a very good director.