There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood is the latest Academy-Award nominated picture for the Oscar's could be lovechild Paul Thomas Anderson. The film has been heralded time and time again throughout the last Oscar race, but much to the avail of any P.T. Anderson fan, the Coen Brothers stole away with it. TWBB chronicles the rise and fall of oil tycoon Daniel Plainview, who through the years, becomes severely disjointed in between his work and his hatred for mankind.

P.T. Anderson adapts Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! for his latest motion picture which propelled his career into a more serious tone. It seems in Hollywood, the greater the film is, the fewer theaters they get shown at; It's really quite a shame seeing as how this film should be seen nearly by the entire American population. With greed comes hatred, which eventually unfolds during this saga of the Plainview family.

The film is entirely supported on the dialogue, acting, and cinematography. Much of the acclaim is being showered amongst Daniel Day-Lewis. While he deserves all of the credit, i must hand it to Paul Dano for his excellent role as the sniveling religious boy who cares for the development of his church and nothing more, not even the prospect of his family. When you look at it in perspective, both were selfish figments of the story.

Much of the film is built off the American dream and flourishes off of the cardinal sins; lust, greed, and envy. This leads to complications with the newly erected Church of the Third Revelation. Faith and power often clash in this film. I haven't seen a godless character been played so well since Timothy Carey's The World's Greatest Sinner. The eventual decline of Daniel is one of heart-breaking importance, seeing such a proud man spiral into alcoholism and chronic back-pain is the outcome of such a story.

What makes this films legacy so powerful? The acting? The characters? The steel determination to be the best? All signs point to the fluidity that guides the scenes along a rail road track. There Will Be Blood is a must-see for anyone. If you are interested in history, character developments of the colossal sort, an amazing soundtrack by a member of Radiohead, or the acting of Daniel Day-Lewis, you will absolutely adore this film. To put it simply, the best red-blooded American film to ever be made.

-Maq