Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 film “There Will Be Blood” is a very dark and intense look at when ambition turns into deadly obsession. Set in the early 1900s, the film chronicles the life of Daniel Plainview, played by the legendary Daniel Day-Lewis, a silver miner turned oil businessman who is driven by greed. As Plainview gains more fortune, his power-hungry mindset grows with it, slowly leading him down a path of self-destruction.
This film, in my opinion, is one of the greatest films of all time. The cinematography, the performances, the realistic themes, and the powerful score; there is so much to enjoy about this film. It’s a film that makes viewers want to be ambitious and work hard, but can scare them with the possibility that you will end up like Daniel. It allows for deep thought throughout its 2-hour and 40-minute run, then breaks you out of that trance with its gut-wrenching ending. Let’s break it down.
The performance by Day-Lewis is a career best, and he disappears into the mindset of Plainview as he slowly transforms into a paranoid and hateful man. It’s one of the best of all time and is also my favorite performance by an actor to date. For his efforts, Day-Lewis deservedly received his second Oscar for Best Actor. Paul Dano, who portrays the youthful pastor Eli Sunday, also gives a stellar supporting performance. I believe that Dano should’ve received his first Oscar nomination for this role, but unfortunately he was not nominated.
The most memorable feature about this film, from my perspective, is the visuals and the haunting score. The constant use of wide shots of empty land, produced by cinematographer Robert Elswit, who won an Academy Award for his efforts, produces this feeling of isolation while the tense score by Jonny Greenwood keeps you on edge. With the noises of oil drills, the crackling of fire that contradicts the scenes that are filled with silence, viewers may begin to feel like they are a part of the characters’ lives. The film even begins in silence, setting the stage for a very thoughtful and uneasy-feeling film.
My experience with this film is a bit out of the ordinary. When I first pushed play on this film, I ended up turning it off because I thought it was the slowest movie ever;I highly regret my decision. When I finally restarted and actually took the time to engage in the film, it’s become such a turning point in my journey into the world of film. I hadn’t, up until this point, seen a film that dived headfirst into such realistic and dramatic themes. The major themes in this film consist of the destruction that can stem from greed and ambition, the never-ending conflict between capitalism and religion, as well as the emptiness within achieving the ‘American Dream.’ While these themes have been talked about in older films and modern films, there is no movie that does it as well as “There Will Be Blood”.
Although ‘There Will Be Blood’ is a long, slow-paced, and heavy movie regarding its subjects, it’s incredibly powerful and influential in modern cinema. It’s a portrayal of how greed and pride can take everything from a person, even their sense of human connection. With its remarkable direction by Paul Thomas Anderson and unforgettable performances, this is definitely a film to check out, no matter if you like movies or not.