SPOILER WARNING
There Will Be Blood, is a 2007 film directed, written, and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film is inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! (1927), and tells the story of Daniel Plainview's quest for power in Southern California's oil boom of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano.
Plot summary:In the 1890s, Daniel Plainview, a struggling silver miner, finds his true wealth in petroleum extraction while taking the orphaned child, H.W., as his own for a valuable family man image. In 1911, Plainview gets a tip on a valuable supply on the struggling Sunday family ranch in the impoverished Little Boston, California. In his quest to acquire the property, Plainview meets the sanctimonious Eli Sunday, the young reverend of the local church with his own ambitions for his diocese and the profit from the oil. (IMDB.com)
There Will Be Blood is basically about the rise and fall of Daniel Plainview( Daniel Day-Lewis).A strugging miner becomes a wealthy entrepreneur,but gradually loses himself,loses his sanity,he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life.Before reaching this stage, he uses all the means that he can use in order to acquire the land and to profit from oil.To do so,he manipulates and deceives the locals,presenting himself as a family man and later as repentant sinner.His relationship with the young reverend of the "Church of the third Apocalypse" is an important part of the plot.It is another game of manipulation,which reaches the edge and eventually leads to a tragic outcome.
The movie presents the development of the U.S society and economy during the late 1890s and the first decades of the 20th century.The local society Little Boston, California is presented in its various aspects.Apart from the locals,their beliefs and their way of living,we see an ongoing struggle for the exploitation of oil.The movie leads to the 1929 stock market crash.In these circumstances we see the quest of Daniel Plainview.A complex personality,a man that achieved his goals,but gradually lost his sanity,his sense of reason.He also faced a family tragedy,with the loss of hearing of his son.The relationship with him had an unpleasant conclusion,which was the outcome of the slowly mounting malevolent madness.Despite his wealth,Daniel Plainview is lost in his own ambition.
The perfomance of Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the strong points of the movie.His portrayal of the ruthless entrepreneur is exceptional and he is deservedly nominated for an Academy Award.There is so much depth and expressiveness in his perfomance.
Although the movie progresses slowly,it has astonishing cinematography,very good music (composed by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood) and direction.Paul Thomas Anderson proves his consistency and his skills as a director,after Boogie Nights,Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love.
There Will Be Blood is a journey to a man's soul,a soul that's eventually lost.
"I see the worst in people"
The movie is nominated in 8 categories in today's 80th Academy Award ceremony
- Best Picture (Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar, & P.T. Anderson)
- Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Best Art Direction (Jack Fisk and Jim Erickson)
- Best Cinematography (Robert Elswit)
- Best Film Editing (Dylan Tichenor)
- Best Sound Editing (Matthew Wood)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UMTjszGPHv4
