Did no one really watch the movie?

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2008)

I read 4 pages of comments with people slamming the film, and criticizing Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as being one dimensional. Yes, he was manipulative and cold, but did no one truly feel his half-hearted attempts at compassion? Is it not appreciated how difficult that was to pull off? He may have never truly trusted anyone, but he appreciated the company of people who were loyal to him either out of fear, or respect. The man that posed as his brother got to remain in his company simply because Plainview appreciated some familiarity. Someone compared Plainview's character to a Picasso, and I think that was a perfect description. However, the reference was made negatively, where I see it as a quality to the film.
"I have abandoned my child," may have been in a scene where he was attempting to win over the church goers, but DDL still showed us pain in his eyes. The child may have never been his, but he raised him as his own. So for him to wait until H.W. was married and in his 20's to maliciously tell him the truth is a kind of evil that I can't really recall seeing on film. And it's a beautiful contradiction when he welcomed H.W. back after abandoning him and continuing to raise him as his own.
Paul Dano is a firecracker on screen. As spectacular as DDL is in everything he touches, Paul Dano was excellent beside him. At no point do I feel like he was acted clear off the screen.