There Will Be Blood Review

Set during the transition period from the 19th to the 20th century, There Will Be Blood tells of Daniel Plainview, a self-proclaimed 'oil man' looking to expand his business of digging wells and collecting oil. With his child and his knowledge, he is tipped off by a son of the Sunday family that their ranch contains oil. Giving Paul Sunday the benefit of the doubt, Daniel Plainview and his son travel up to the ranch to check out the land, finding oil and buying up nearly all of the surrounding land. What follows is a story of love, hatred and deceit, with morals being questioned and death never being too far away.

Perhaps the most evident point this film is trying to share is the drastic changes that happened with the coming of the 20th century. Pre-20th century, religion was a necessity in every man's life, especially those trying to make a name for themselves in business and the film beautifully shows the tension between these independent businessmen and those still fully committed to religion through the use of two characters, Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday. What we see in Daniel through most of the film is a man who is in love with his family and his business, things that he knows full well exist and does not have to argue or preach to prove anything. These characteristics are contrasted in Eli, a man wholly committed to God, seeming to resent his family, especially his father, the supposed figure of male authority in his life. Tense moments between the two characters are frequent throughout the film, with Paul Thomas Anderson never giving too much away about the character of Eli, his motives are questionable to the audience, therefore allowing us to feel the same suspicions and judgements of his actions that Daniel feels. With this, we are thrown into the mindset of people living in the 20th century, questioning the motives of both the religious figures in the film and the decisions of those dealing in the oil business.

The performance given by Daniel Day-Lewis is raw and emotional. With an Oscar being awarded to him for his role in this film, his acting gives the film a whole new level of meaning, with the relationship between himself and his on-screen son becoming more important than any of the other plot points surrounding it. The brilliant characterisation of Daniel Plainview is matched in the outstanding performance that Day-Lewis gives, bringing the character to life and allowing the audience to see Plainview as if he were a real person. The perfect combination of Anderson's writing and Day-Lewis' performance can be seen during the scene where Plainview is reunited with his son after sending him away. The camera is chosen to stay at an extreme long shot, giving the characters their privacy and intimacy that we feel they deserve. The development of these characters is so well-done that we do not feel an urge to intrude on this moment, as we would not choose to intrude on that moment were it happening outside of the film world. The relationship was indeed a highlight to watch, and perhaps brought a sense of magic to those scenes that would otherwise seem slow and monotonous.

Cinematographer Robert Elswit, who has worked on several Paul Thomas Anderson films, shows just how much beauty can be captured by a camera in this film. The camera seems to have a fascination with the mechanical structures that are constantly being developed further as the time-frame of the film moves on. These technical machines are featured in a lot of the main shots, with the tall frame of one of the oil wells lighting on fire being one of the most memorable images from the film that sticks in the audience's head. Again, we are put into the mindset of people living in turn of the century America, looking at these large structures with both wonder and contempt, knowing that they cause death and greed among many other things. The framing of the film is often extremely aesthetically pleasing also, with the final shot of Plainview in his bowling alley again being one that audiences remember time and time again.

The film's script is extremely strong, the characterisation is perfect and the camerawork is done expertly. All of the elements of film that need to be perfected in order to make a movie work are perfected and therefore the film is an extremely enjoyable viewing. There Will Be Blood is a film that can be watched again and again, with the viewer gaining something different yet equally enjoyable from each watch.