Rated R

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Daniel Day Lewis, Mary Elizabeth Barrett, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Christine Olejniczak

Heidi’s Illustrious Rating: 3.75

Word of Warning to you softies out there: some disturbing violence.

I’m not exactly sure where I stand on this movie and in my short career as a movie reviewer, this situation has never come up before. I saw There will be Blood this past weekend and had intended to sit down and write the review right away, but I couldn’t decide whether I liked it or not. I resisted the temptation to browse the Internet for other reviews, simply because I want my reviews to be genuine, not swayed by what others are saying in their illustrious reviews.

There will be Blood is a character study. It’s all about Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. The story follows Plainview’s life for a thirty year stretch, from the late 1800’s into the 1920’s; from the tough time he spent working alone as a silver miner, to his later years when oil has made him a very rich, yet unhappy man.

The plot is the story of Plainview, who strikes it rich as a cutthroat oil man in the wild west at a time when only the brightest, cleverest and most cutthroat made it to the top of the oil business (sound familiar?). Plainview receives a tip that oil is bubbling out of the ground in a tiny town called New Boston. After he and his son, HW, investigate Plainview wastes no time in buying up as much land in the area as possible, at the lowest price possible. He promises the townspeople jobs, schools and infrastructure. However, the town’s young, hellfire and brimstone preacher is skeptical of Plainviews’ intentions, creating tension between the two men. 

This movie is long and it feels long. The cinematography spends extensive time focusing on the desolate landscape in which the movie is set. The music in There will be Blood is intense and at times I felt it was obtrusive. It seemed as though the music was being heavily relied on to create a sense of apprehension and dread – instead of letting the story play out on its own merits. However, even though it irritated me, the music was effective in creating a continuous sense of foreboding throughout the movie.

Daniel Day-Lewis has received an Academy Award for his role as Daniel Plainview. I believe he will win and rightly so. The movie is virtually a one-man-show, featuring scene after scene in which Day-Lewis brilliantly tackles this complicated character.

This isn’t a lighthearted movie, due in part to David Plainview’s perpetual discontentment with the world around him. It’s a story of struggle. Plainview struggles to obtain power over his life, his son’s life and everyone else’s life, HW struggles to learn how to live with a handicap and the townspeople’s struggles for survival and their eternal souls. Even the movie’s soundtrack seems in constant struggle with the movie itself. 

There will be Blood is up for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, so if you’re like me, and have to see all the nominees, you’ll have to see this movie. It’s not for everyone; it highlights the worst traits in human nature. 

Ultimately, I gave There will be Blood a 3.75, just short of a full recommendation, because even though it’s a well-constructed, well-acted movie, I still can’t decide whether I truly like it.