There will also be sweat,tears,mud,oil,rocks,fire....

Rating: 9/10 (11 February 2008)

...greed,duplicity,soul-killing,revenge and VOLUME. Not all in that order,of course.
Paul Thomas Anderson's been somewhat of an odd duck when it comes to film subjects. Here is the order of what he's assayed so far: gambling addiciton(HArd Eight),the pornography industry,circa the late 1970s and early 1980s(Boogie Nights),the LA middle class scene(Magnolia)and the odd,inward social awkwardness of romance between two people who have major issues(Punch-Drunk Love). And now we have...the Oil prospecting trade of turn of the 20th century California,cribbed at least in spirit from Upton Sinclair's muckraking book "Oil!". So much for discernible patterns in film-making,huh?
Daniel Plainview(Daniel Day-Lewis,in only his third movie role since 1997,and breathing fire through much of this,as usual)is very much the model of the "robber baron" capitalist of his era:shrew,savvy,driven and maybe more than a little sociopathic. He has no life outside of work,and he works very hard,first as a gritty prospector then,as he is able to stake his fortune on land claims,as a salesman toward developing untapped oil fields through much of the western United States. When he lands down in New Boston,a dusty rural community in central California,he is able to sell a religiously devout community on drilling up their arid,unfertile fields,primarily getting the rights from the pious(and possibly brutal)Sunday family,led by the charismatic Eli(Paul Dano,in an awesome breakthrough role!). A deal is brokered to set the wheels in motion for Plainview's drilling,but figuring the nature of this business and Plainview's very skewed,removed persona,that deal is ripe for being dishonored.
A two-and-a-half hour film that uses probably only 2/3 of it for dialog(including the nearly mute opening twenty minutes),Anderson's film--which he also wrote--is a test in patience as much as it is a template for acting and character study. Since the action in this movie is at a steady,almost monotonous pace(not to mention the sexual element of this film is nearly nil),and the characters take a while to reach emotional crescendo,some viewers will be turned off by this very casual journey to discovery. DAy-Lewis is as good as advertised as the central figure,but save for him,Dano,Kevin O'Connor(as someone who may or may not be from PLainview's past) and,perhaps,PLainview's adopted son(Dillon Freasier,a quiet study in unforced presence),this show is mostly full of ancillary characters who fill out necessary scenes but have little development. Bottom line:as unique and well-realized as this story and film is,it is a demanding movie that expects the viewer to come prepared to want what it has to offer,just as badly as the viewer is going to expect the movie to give it entertainment(if not more so).
I give this movie high marks for the individuality and intelligence it offers,but would hold back on it as a whole movie because,for all it offers on artistic merit,it still feels just a tad hollow. Maybe that was intentional,but then that would make this offering much more for the discriminating tastes than for the casual viewer. THere's a lot this film has to offer,and much of it comes from the product of actions as much as motivations(hence my summary line). Lewis' performance ranks among his best,and if one can appreciate fully that AND the meditation being offered,then one will feel truly rewarded by "There Will be Blood". A strong nine(or perhaps a weak ten)out of ten stars.