A modern classic

Rating: 10/10 (6 October 2010)

*There are a few plot points that are discussed in this review*
I don't write a lot of reviews on here, but for a movie like this, I think I will. Of all of the best movies I saw from 2007, the quirky and original Juno, the suspenseful No Country for Old Men, and the hilarious Hot Fuzz, There Will Be Blood remains the best. Very rarely does a movie appear where EVERYTHING comes together perfectly. The acting, directing, writing, music, and cinematography are all top notch here.
The film involves Daniel Plainview, a prospector who agrees with the Sunday family in the town of Little Boston, California to drill on their land for oil. When Daniel does discovers oil, tensions between himself and Paul Sunday, a priest in the town, rise as they both become more and more greedy as the oil keeps coming in.
Daniel Day Lewis gives the performance of the decade as Daniel Plainview. Paul Dano, who was in Little Miss Sunshine, really surprised me here. There is a scene late in the movie where Daniel is baptized, where Dano and Lewis both really shine. It's a chilling scene that is still just as effective no matter how many times I see it.
Now that I think about it, the entire movie is filmed with images that stick with you long after you've seen the movie. Daniel falling down the mineshaft early in the film, an oil derrick catching fire and the many workers who rush to snap the cables and wait until the time comes to dynamite it. The aforementioned baptism scene. And of course the ending, undeniably one of the most surreal and jaw-dropping moments in recent movie history. Watching this movie for the first time (on blu-ray, which I highly recommend), I had to rewind it and watch the scene again 2 or 3 times, just to be sure that what I was seeing was actually happening. I know it sounds strange, but it's true.
This is the best film of 2007 and probably of the decade.