There Will Be Blood Review

There Will Be Blood: Fifteen minutes into Blood, without a single word yet spoken, you know you are in for a unique film experience. You instantly see that Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest offering is not just a wedge of entertainment, but a piece of art. When you want to be serious about “art” in the world of cinema, one actor’s name comes screaming to mind - Daniel Day-Lewis (DDL). DDL plays Daniel Plainview, an oil man in turn-of-the-century Texas. His greed leads him to any town or ranch where oil has been discovered. He eventually finds his way to the Sunday family ranch where oil is so plentiful that it has been spotted seeping out of the ground. Here Plainview meets Eli Sunday, a man who preaches the word of God. As the oil wells are constructed, the two of them slowly become adversaries. There Will Be Blood is a study of many things including greed, hatred, trust, jealously, and faith in God. Watching DDL deteriorate and transform his character because of greed is like spying on Dali while painting – a genius at work! Matching the exquisiteness of DDL’s performance is the powerful score supplied by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood (I know what you are thinking, this coming from a huge Radiohead fan). The music becomes another character in this sprawling epic while providing in depth foreshadowing. In my opinion, it was the innovative score that really put this film on a higher pedestal. I think it is very important to know that the runtime is roughly 3 hours. Also, the pace of the film is much slower than the norm, however I am not saying that is bad. In fact, in this case it is a good thing because it gives you time to cherish the detail and thought put into this tour de force.
Ry’s Rating: A-

If this movie had parents they would be: Wall Street & 2001 A Space Odyssey

With a runtime of 158 minutes
This film is rated R