it's good, but oddly unsatisfying

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2008)

I have to say right away that the first half to two-thirds of this movie are totally, completely, and unquestionably mind blowing. The film combines eye scorching cinematography, fierce acting, dynamic, unpredictable characters, bold imagery, revolutionary music, and an overall style and pacing that grant the movie a sort of tension and realism that are absolutely palpable.
What I really liked is that for most of the film the story if of such epic proportions that it seems as if no actors could contain it. However, Daniel Day-Lewis internalizes his role to such an extent that the huge scope of the story is almost a reflection of his character's (and humanity's) dark complexities. He and Paul Dano give electrifying performances, and Day- Lewis's Oscar will be well deserved indeed. The film pulsates with its own evil, manic energy and boldness, thanks in large part to Johnny Greenwood's revolutionary score. Calling it music wouldn't be very accurate. Instead, I think of it as primal noises and tones, signifying Daniel Plainview's primal urges of greed and power. For the most part, this is a stunning work of cinema.
During the majority of the film all the good elements of the film I listed above are firing on all cylinders. In one of my bigger film disappointments of the year, in the latter 40 minutes to an hour of the film, these components fall puzzlingly out of place. The story all of a sudden contracts into a psychodrama, standing in stark contrast the the two hours of allegorical oil drilling and evangelizing that preceded it. After this point most of the film takes place inside, depriving viewers of the beautiful cinematography they had been treated to. Paul Dano, the yin to Day-Lewis's yang, leaves the picture for a while, depriving the viewer of their delicious (and frightening) rivalry. The music gets less edgy and more conventional, eventually sounding like something you've heard before. And, most puzzlingly, while all these things are being scaled down, Daniel Day-Lewis's performance gets more and more over the top, eventually bordering on dark comedy. This is fine, I suppose, but I feel that in the context of the rest of the movie it just doesn't work at all.
In a way, There Will Be Blood is a lot like oil itself. It starts off with the joy and energy of discovery, and makes the viewers very happy, just as it makes Plainview and others like him very rich. However, just like oil, ever so slowly it dries up.