Oh, yes. There will be, Eli. There Will Be Blood is centered around the Upton Sinclair novel titled Oil! This film, recently nominated for the Academy Awards Best Picture honor, is another from the independent monster that dominated Hollywood this year. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a miner who accidentally strikes oil when blasting in his mine. He becomes a successful prospector of sorts and dominates the west coast oil market. However, like the making of this film, he does so independently of big companies. He trusts no one and is only willing to make his son and brother partners in his business. I do not want to elaborate on what becomes of that, because if you have not seen this movie it would be completely spoiled. But Daniel struggles his entire life, trusting almost no one, and any trust he gives is usually on certain conditions. A story about the terror of greed and self-centeredness, this film is a must-see. Of course, everyone knows that being an independent film does not necessarily mean it will be a great film that all should view. There Will Be Blood definitely is. The film was produced by Paramount Vantage as well as Miramax. With these two companies behind it, the film definitely got the financial backing necessary to make a believable and complex set of oil rigs and old West towns. However, by being produced independently the film was able to deal with more complex issues that are challenging to the viewer. It deals with selfish ambition, betrayal and hatred. It deals with manipulation and greed. It relies very heavily on character development as the audience begins to see Daniel shift from a smart ambitious man into a complete profit-driven monster. The pastor of the local “church” is extremely controversial, mimicking the development of faith-healers and charismatic manipulation of unwitting people. The film could never deal with these topics and extremely flawed characters if produced within Hollywood. The film makes great use of landscapes and open areas, very much reminding me of the cinematography in No Country For Old Men. And Daniel Day-Lewis is astounding. He absolutely carries his role with dignity and power. His passion for his role was obvious and is usually obvious in most of his characters. He picks and chooses his parts, rarely taking two roles in one year. He focuses his energy on one role, and does it superbly. If you have not taken the time to see this film, see it. If you have not taken the time to watch Daniel Day-Lewis in many of his roles, watch them. Buy them, they are worth it. And There Will Be Blood is absolutely no exception.
1 comment:
I agree this is one of the best films of the year, and a must see. The film does take on some more serious themes that Hollywood would most likely shy away from. For one the hero of the film is not even remotely politically correct. There is a dark and demonic side to the film that shows what greed can do to a person. Latching on to their conscious and preventing them from seeing outside their own bubble of success, and once Daniel taste oil, like liquor he can't get enough. He seems to like potent viscous liquids, boose, oil, and blood! It is also very authentic, having verses from the book directly transcribed to the dialouge. We see the directors and authors vision in the film, it becomes a part of the Director and is unique to him alone. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the styles and characters types to be used in Hollywood films, attempting to eat from the hand they've bitten.
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