There Will Be Blood- The Blood Sure Clots in the Last 20 Minutes **

Rating: 5/10 (9 April 2008)

I have never seen a film to deteriorate in the last 20 minutes in the way that "There Will Be Blood" does.
The film has a great plot- a man who becomes very wealthy from oil drilling, and the apparent abandoning of his son who is deafened by the blast of oil being discovered.
I thought that this would be the basic story line, the relationship between father and son through the years. Instead, we see the horrible relationship between Lewis and the town pastor.
This film is certainly an anti-religious one. At the end, we see the human frailties possessed by the pastor. The two had a fight by film's end in a manner that reminded me of Max Bialystock and Leo Blum fighting in 1967's "The Producers." The ending is simply awful.
Before the last 20 minutes, Lewis gives a restrained but powerful performance as the wealthy oil driller who is really insane.
A the time of the horrible ending, Lewis announces to his valet that he is finished. He should have been so 20 minutes sooner.