There Will Be Blood is a challenging movie. It will shove you to the ground and rub dirt in your face and have no qualms about doing so. Rather than tiptoe around it, the movie embraces the ambiguous morality of its characters and provides no clear answers. The case is presented and the judgment is left to the viewer. As such, there is something utterly rewarding lying beneath the surface of it all, but you'll have to dig deep to get at it.
The movie spends most of its time detailing Daniel Plainview's (Daniel Day-Lewis) efforts to establish a prominent oil field near a small town in southern California. Despite the lack of diversity in locales, this movie is epic. The journey of Plainview from small-time silver miner to alcoholic oil tycoon clocks in at a lengthy two hours and forty minutes, with nary a moment for respite. The story winds it's way through thirty years of technological and social changes and forces the viewer to examine the virtues of religion and capitalism in a country growing at an unprecedented rate.
The local pastor, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), is a man who claims he speaks for the Lord and demands a share of the oil profits for his church. This breeds constant conflict between him and Plainview and makes for some of the most intense scenes in the film. Chances are you've heard the buzz and will watch this movie to see Day-Lewis in his earth-shattering turn as a power-hungry entrepreneur, and you will not be disappointed. The way he and Dano play off each other is a prime example of what drama should look like on the big screen. The lack of an Oscar nomination, much less win, for Dano as best supporting actor is utterly mind-boggling, but does nothing to detract from his stellar performance. The scenes between the two men are only matched by those echoing the venturistic relationship between Plainview and his son. It is impossible to avoid being swept up in the emotional narrative they weave.
The gusto with which the actors perform is brilliantly matched by the impressive cinematography and amazing score. The soundtrack manages to create a foreboding tension using a minimal amount of instrumentation, driving the movie at a steady pace. It perfectly complements the visuals, rather than overtaking them; don't be surprised if you become engrossed in scenes that should be monotonous. I often found myself preparing for the worst as the music bore down on my subconscious, only to find my own mind had misled me. The score has that kind of power.
In the end, this film will haunt you; it may take weeks, even months to digest. You will not spend your time wondering who was right and who was wrong, or what drove these men to the brink. Instead, you'll find yourself wondering why this side of humanity is so dominant, so prevalent in everyday life. Chances are you'll feel exhausted after watching this movie and you may never want to see it again. Depending on who you are, that may be a good thing. The one thing that holds There Will Be Blood back is the same thing that makes it truly stand out; it is an unforgiving film. Rather than try to enjoy it, just try to absorb it. There is an awful lot to take in.
3 / 4