The Best Film of 2007

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 2008)

Bold, ambitious, and macabre, Paul Thomas Anderson's, There Will Be Blood is a unique and unforgettable experience. A terrifying character study of one man's greed and ego, and played with immense and uncanny intensity by the amazing and brilliant Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood is a masterful and allegorical study of capitalism, oil, power, and faith at the turn of the 20th century. In the astonishing opening, we see nothing but a series of gorgeous shots of an uninviting landscape. There is no dialog, just ominous images of a landscape. On the soundtrack (scored by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood) we hear a discord getting higher and higher until we see the wordless quest by Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis in a Oscar winning performance), who's inside a hole in the lower ground of the landscape looking for silver.
There Will Be Blood is a masterful American character study, as Daneil Plan view, Day-Lewis brings the madness of a ruthless, egomaniac oil tycoon.
With a innovative narrative structure like The Assassination of Jesse James, There Will Be Blood has a sprawling narrative structure that chronicles three decades, begging at the end of the 19th century and ending in the 1920's. In the beginning of the film Plainview's quest for silver leads him to a huge discovery and fortune of oil. He's obsessed with wealth and prosperity, and his vision can only be understood and pieced together hours after seeing the movie. He has son named H.W. (Dillon Freasier) that he uses as a disguise to convince people that he's a family man so he can drill wherever he wants. He even lets his son ear in the business meetings.
In one of the meetings Daniel Plainview and his right hand man Fletcher (Hinds) encounters a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano from Little Miss Sunshine), who informs Daniel about a huge chunk of land that sits on top of an enormous sea of oil. Majority of the film's running time depicts Plainview conquest for triumph and wealth, and Paul's frequent feud with Paul's identical twin brother Eli, a preacher in the towns local church called the Church of the Third Revelation.
This type of turmoil between the two men leads to a psychological standoff, and raises ambiguous questions if Paul and Eli are really identical twins or the same person because Eli becomes a two-faced enemy and rival to Planview. Their stand-off defines the rich themes and ideas of There Will Be Blood, one of a greedy and ruthless entrepreneur, and a self-serving, maniacal evangelical. Both men are obsessed, both are egotistic, both want to be on top.
In the midst of their problems, Planviews son H.W. suffers a tragedy that alters their relationship forever. A man, Henri (Kevin J O'Connor) arrives into town claiming to be Plainview's long, lost half-brother, and Plainview begins to up to his brother in a mesmerizing monologue stating "I have a competition in me; I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people. There are times I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I've built up my hatreds over the years little by little. I see the worst in people. I don't need to look past seeing them to get all I need. I want to earn enough money so I can get away from everyone I can't keep doing this on my own, with these people."
Henri becomes the only person that Planview begins to open up to, only for it to be revealed that Henri is a fraud. The betrayal leads Planview to a downward spiral and he lives a life of an isolated misanthrope, he has disdain for humanity, and he lives on and gets rich enough to accomplish his goal of getting away from everyone.
As for There Will Be Blood technically, its beautifully and brilliantly crafted, its a true work of art. The production design by Jack Fisk, who's worked on all of Terrence Malick's films and David Lynch movies, is rich, meticulous, and ravishing. Robert Elswit's widescreen cinematography is sweeping and well-composed. Anderson's trademark tracking shots and long takes are awe-inspiring, and the framing and composition are all beautifully composed.
There's a dark majesty to There Will Be Blood, and the conclusion will leave many scratching their heads like they did with No Country For Old Men. The conclusion is a bit over-the-top and theatrical, but its one o those endings that works thematically, yet execution will leave many baffled and perplexed.
Still there's no denying There Will Be Blood works as a rich piece of art, it disturbs, provokes, and challenges. In the finale Planview has alone last stand off with Eli, and its highly theatrical, but probable. Its the finale that's going to divide many, as for myself i;m in the middle about and I really want to see this movie again and reevaluate it.
In the end , There Will Blood profoundly suggests how individualism is what built this country, yet now its no longer embraced in our society. Plainview's ambitions and greed led to self-destruction. He lost all fundamentals of human values like hope, love, and community. His greed dissolved into something destructive and self-serving.
That's what makes Blood such a terrifying and fascinating experience is Anderson's refusal to rationalize Plainview. In the end There Will Be Blood will baffle and disturb many, and like all great works of art this film intruded my consciousness like my favorite movie of last year INLAND EMPIRE, and There Will Be Like like INLAND EMPIRE is a rare, gripping, and masterful movie that doesn't come around to often.
Rating **** out of **** A Masterpiece!!!