A true vision of hell

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2008)

People will rave about Daniel Day-Lewis's performance. Indeed, it is one of the greatest performances of the past year. However there's a lot more about this film that is fascinating and great than just the acting. It is certainly one of the best things about the film, but it's difficult to describe how it works and why it works well. The film is simply powerful in it's subtly and it's vision of the early 20th century America. The idea of oil drillers and petroleum operators is, in itself, fascinating. The film uses these ideas and works them through the character of Daniel Plainview(Daniel Day-Lewis). Daniel is a man, destroyed by hard work and closed mindedness, who has a son, HW, who doesn't even belong to him and who is is seriously deranged by the utter aimless direction that his life is slowing heading toward. Sure, he has the ability to become prosperous in business and in wealth, but it will never truly change him or help him. He is a man who is already lost in his extremes. Enter Eli Sunday(Paul Dano), a bible thumping, arrogant, and greedy person that Daniel Plainview despises. Daniel hates people who use religion to make money and to not accept responsibility for their actions. Eli Sunday's money making religious scam business is more successful than Daniel's oil drilling business, despite how they don't appear to work as hard as he or his men do. Both Eli and Daniel are bad people. Daniel is bad because he is a mess of a man who, despite being successful and smart, is a liar and does 't think twice. Eli is bad because, although he is also successful, he is arrogant, loud, annoying, and doesn't seem to realize who Daniel is. The film is about how these two men are able to exploit each other and cause the downfalls of each of their businesses. This is a film that truly says something about how confused the human spirit can get under the most bizarre circumstances. The two characters do end up completely losing it, but this isn't a surprise to anyone. When I first saw the film, I criticized it for the last third, which I felt went too far in it's grotesque nature. After seeing it a third time, I understand now that the last third of the film is perfect for the rest of the film. I knew that the two characters would be descending into madness, I just didn't expect it to be so extreme as it is in this film. The last third part of this film works because the audience has a sense of impeding dread from the very start. This is why the music by Johnny Greenwood in the film works so well, because it drones and sounds very industrial. At the beginning it's distracting, but you get used to it because, in a sense, it's like the soundtrack to hell. I don't believe in the afterlife in general, but if hell did exist then the world of this film would probably be like what it is like. As extreme as the film sounds, it is not because of the content. People going into this expecting a lot of blood and murder are going to be shocked that most of the violence is limited to the last third and they will most likely leave before them. What makes this film so extreme is how indiscriminate the character of Daniel Plainview is in the people he hates. He doesn't hate them to a certain extent or is mildly annoyed by them, he hates them all about as much as a human being can hate another human being. It is in this that drives the character down. These characters are bad people. Watching this film is like watching two hours of a big, beautiful, vast world being created and then seeing every single part of it get destroyed and set aflame in thirty minutes time. Daniel Day-Lewis does such a fantastic job. His character is so complicated and horrific and somehow he gets to a point where he can do whatever he wants. Daniel Day-Lewis goes off into his own little sick world in this and I will be very surprised if he is able to recover from it. Paul Dano is a good contender to go head-to-head with Day-Lewis in who can be the crazier character. It's a brutal ride, but it's accelerating and, above all, brilliant. This film took me into a fascinating and horrific world and I loved every minute of it. Truly a fantastic accomplishment.
SPOILERS: One thing I need to mention, however, is the ending. Many people have criticized the ending for it's grim and bizarre turn of events. Basically, it ends with Daniel Plainview finally having enough of Eli Sunday's lies and manipulation and beats his head to a bloody mess with a bowling pin. Daniel's butler comes down sometime later only to discover the bloody mess, with Daniel sitting by it. Daniel then turns around and says, "I'm finished." CUT TO HAPPY MUSIC. The obvious purpose of this ending is to show that Daniel is left with nothing. Of the two men, one could argue that Eli loses more, but the only thing Daniel doesn't lose is his life. He is dead in every way possible. The only way for him to conform to that is to make Eli be actually dead. I found it to be powerful, shocking, and very unique. It sure wasn't a pleasing way for a film to end. There isn't any real closure, but there isn't always a meaning behind everything in life. END SPOILERS
PROS:
-Perfect performance by Daniel Day-Lewis
-Beautiful look
-Excellent attention to detail
-Marvelous opening scene
CONS:
-The music may be annoying for many viewers
-The final turn of events is off-putting, to say the least