There will be snores

Rating: 5/10 (7 January 2008)

While not truly terrible, this is still an extremely over-rated movie. It's more of a boring, meandering mess than a cinematic classic. I was fighting sleep at points. There's no way this movie will stand the test of time. I know I couldn't sit through it again.
First, the good news. As always, Daniel Day Lewis turns in a wonderful performance as Daniel Plainfield, a prospector and oil speculator who slowly succumbs to the effects of greed and madness. Also, the cinematography is excellent as is the score by Johnny Greenfield of Radiohead. Actually, the score was the most remarkable thing about the movie for me. It was like no other soundtrack I've heard, and was at times spooky, frenetic, moody and moving. Well done.
Now the bad news. Despite the director's best efforts, the movie is pretty boring and pointless, mainly due to the weak script. There's really not much of a story here beyond "look what greed can do", and the characters don't draw one in enough to care what's going to happen. Consequently, by the half-hour mark I found myself wondering if a plot was going to present itself. Two hours later I was just praying for it to end. Eventually it does, but the conclusion seems contrived and forced.
To sum up, it's okay, but only okay.