Film Review -- There Will Be Blood (R)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Paramount Vantage/Miramax Films
Released December 26, 2007

This movie literally came out of nowhere. To put it in perspective, it was a balmy 70 degrees today in Boston and I was out on a walk in a fantastic mood when I decided to stop in and see this film. Let every viewer beware, this is not a film that you should just walk into. This was one of the most oddly suspenseful, twisted films I have seen in a long time.

I knew from the very first scene that I was in for something different. The film has no dialog for literally the opening 15 minutes but does include some seriously The Shining-esk music that put a pit in my stomach. Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) took Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" and made a modern day psychological thriller worth watching.

Be reminded that this film was over two and a half hours. This is not a film to see if you are antsy-pantsy or, in my case, coming off an hour long walk in unseasonable warmth. But if you have the time and want to give the effort to wrap your mind around this gem, haste not and hit the theater ASAP.

There Will Be Blood is the story of "oil-man" Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) who, around the turn of the century, is quite possibly the most greedy oil tycoon in the west. Upon hearing from a religious fanatic (Paul Dano) that there is a huge oil revenue brewing in a town named Little Boston, Plainview travels with his son to monopolize the area. However, his disrespect of the local people and their enthusiastic religious ways, sends his domination on a serious whirlwind.

The pacing of this film was slow. Really slow. Scenes stretched out so thin that they were almost as thin as the nail I was biting. But in the end, it just heightened the tension to insurmountable levels. The acting out of Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) and Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) was very solid. I was very surprised by Dano who, after a pretty solid and odd performance in Little Miss Sunshine, was able to lay out another odd and solid performance for this film.

Daniel Plainview may be one of the best good/bad characters in a long while. The critical nature of the film in question of organized/fanatical religions was also pertinent and very well thought out. I have already gone on Amazon and grabbed a copy of Sinclair's "Oil!" and hope to see how it matches up. What an odd film...

3.6 out of 4