Year: 2008Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Dillon Freasier
Somehow I felt privileged being able to watch this film in a cinema. I didn't think I would be that lucky, to be honest, especially with the kind of films that our country gets to screen these days. There Will Be Blood is up for 8 Academy Awards this year, and after what I saw today, it's guaranteed for one win at least.
So here's the film's synopsis for ya: it's the turn of the century, 1898. We see a man mining silver out of a hole, who then moves to mining oil four years later. He makes good money out of it, and is always on the lookout for oil prospects and making more profits. This man is our lead character, Daniel Plainview. Daniel runs his own mining team with his son, H.W.
One day, he meets a young man who tells him of a place in Little Boston where there is oil. He goes up there and meets the family who owns the land, the Sunday family, and buys it from them. Then he brings his entire mining team over, sets up his business and promises the surrounding community the benefits from his oiling business. However, his determination in seeking profits earns him an enemy, in the form of the second son of the Sunday family, Eli. Eli is a self proclaimed religious prophet who seeks money from Daniel in order to build his church for his followers.
Daniel also has to contend with other threats: other oil businessmen, a long lost relative, accidents at the mine and his strained relationship with his young son, caused by the latter's deafness from a mining incident.
And that's basically the story. It's about one man's quest for oil which is soaked in many different elements: greed, vengeance, hate, religion and the worst parts of the human psyche. This isn't about oil drilling, even though it may look like it. Paul Thomas Anderson, the director, focuses almost the entire film on Daniel Plainview, and how he becomes the powerful yet deceitful and brilliantly evil person as the story progresses.
As for casting, you can't possibly find a better actor to do this than Daniel Day-Lewis. This is probably the only guy who can make a film every few years and make it memorable. I mean, Daniel IS the film. He is so charming and brutal and believable in his role, that for the majority of the movie, you'll forget that it's Daniel Day-Lewis under the hat of Daniel Plainview. This year's Best Actor Oscar should be his for the taking. But I also have to commend Paul Dano for his portrayal of Eli Sunday. Last year, Dano was the silent brother of Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine, but this year he definitely makes a bigger impact than that film. Eli is a pathetic man trying to screw Plainview and the people he preaches to using religion, and Dano pulls off the role very well indeed. Day-Lewis' confrontation with Dano in the final scene of the film is my favourite. Both actors were excellent.
Anderson does a brilliant job in most aspects of his film, from dialogue to camerawork to set design. My only complaint perhaps, is the length. It feels long, as Anderson takes his time to flesh out his story and characters. But I think the payoff at the end is worth the time.
There Will Be Blood isn't an easy film to watch, but it's worth it, even if you're not a fan of Mr Day-Lewis. (4/5)
1 comment:
I managed to catch this at midvalley saturday midnite. Even though GSC was packed, the hall screening this movie maybe had like 20 people in it, and was stinking with piss odor.
In the tradition of long and slow films ( think this was over 2 hours) like the unforgiven , it would explain why the movie was not shown or circulated widely in this country.
The majority of my praise will go to daniel day lewis. I cant think of another actor who has the calibre to carry the vicious and coldhearted plainview character as he portrayed except for maybe heath ledger,gary oldman or bobby deniro.
I try not to compare with other films but it's very hard and i have to succumb to my comparison of mr plainview to that of depalma's tony montana. A man driven by greed and ambition using whatever tactics he could employ to get what he wants. And much like scarface he too suffered many personal tragedies. With no family in the end, even his fortune could not save his doomed soul. Another howard hughes of the oil business. Johnny greenwoods music tries at best to capture this man's inner turmoil and chracter, the best composition being the scene while the rig was burning and his adopted son lost his hearing. unfortunately at other times the music seemed out of place and very annoying. I get the same vibe when i hear that crap of an album kid A by radiohead.
Day lewis is simply superb in his acting bringing to life this merciless plainview. He is a man who trusts no one and a vengeful soul. Nothing can cure this man as he turns his back on love and God. with greed as his motivation, he buys people's lands and repeatedly connive them of the true value of their land.
The scene where eli slaps him in church demanding he acknowledge that he was a sinner is just classic. So is the part when he left his kid on the train. Close to tears u can almost see the conscience of this man and the affection for HW as he walks away while the train rolled away. One of the very few sad scenes i had ever seen on screen.
He is ruthless is his business tactics and unforgiving and almost sadistic in his personality, taunting and ridiculing eli when he begs for help, just before revealing that there is no oil and killing him. Plainview enjoys hurting people, even those close to him as seen with the child he brought up as his own. Though inside him, locked away is the affection for this young child who is now a man, he could not bring himself to show his affection in words but rather coldly exposed the truth that HW is not his son and taunts him with the fact that he is a bastard. Vengeance is acted out swifly and using face to face method. Even though he can shoot from a distance, he choose to put the gun right to the temple of his impostor brother and murder him up close, even after the latter admitted to his wrongdoing. He bludgeoned eli with a bowling pin.
The character of this plainview alone with the acting of day lewis is central in making this one of the better films i've seen at the cinema in recent memory. I dont think it will appeal to many malaysians but one has to see it tho judge it.
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