THERE WILL BE BLOOD IS BOLDLY COLD BLOODED"I don't want to talk about those things. I see the worst in people. I don't need to look past seeing them to get all I need. I've built my hatreds up over the years, little by little, Henry... to have you here gives me a second breath. I can't keep doing this on my own with these... people. [laughs]"
This was a Daniel Day-Lewis movie, without even the slightest doubt. When a grown man can say "I take your milkshake" and make it sound threatening, that's some serious acting, because milkshakes are inherently good. I won't go into elements of the story as it was a long film and sometimes pretty slow. The plot was not the focus, however. It was Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a self-made oil tycoon. The first time we meet him he is well spoken, confident even a bit arrogant. Then one by one, each worst than the one before, Plainview is a very bad man. He lies, he steals, he does the unthinkable in his quest to gain control of the oil rich area and the pipeline it could link to. It works. But at what price? This is a story about a very very bad man and his ability to pull the same from people who are seen as good. He is ruthless, driven and greedy; and those are some of his better traits! Across the board Day-Lewis swept the awards season. He is hardly recognisable and every gesture, every move, right down to his little finger stays in character. This was an intense and bold movie based on an (Upton Sinclair novel (Oil!) brought to us by Paul Thomas Anderson, known for, among others: Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, and Boogie Nights. This film was dirt, greasy, dirty and confusing. (Confusing, please elaborate)... it was confusing because it is hard to fathom the increasingly rotten things this character says or does. Did I mention that this man was terrible??? Worth the time, but don't touch the milkshake.
PICK: This film takes us to another world and introduces us to a man who demands blood.
