Radio Lady Reviews: There Will Be Blood (Opens January 11, 2008 in wide release)

[Radio_Lady]

The title “There Will Be Blood” comes from a quote in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. “There will be blood everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden and stone containers.” This a small quibble, but there wasn’t that much blood in this film. A more appropriate title might have been “There Will Be Oil”. Upton Sinclair, author of the novel from which the story was taken, might have agreed. He called his 1927 book, simply, “Oil!”

It's a bleak, languid, gruesome, and touching film -- what else defines this fascinating movie? “There Will Be Blood” is a study in exceptional contrasts. In many ways, it is a marvelous visual accomplishment, but it is also devastating. To think that people could be as greedy, selfish, malevolent, thoughtless, and heartless is to shine a spotlight on human beings themselves. This may be a “spoiler”… not in the sense that I’m going to give you important details of the plot or how the story plays out, but what I will tell you about the main character played by Daniel Day-Lewis. I don’t think any of it will stop you from attending the movie if you choose to see it, but read this at your own peril.

“There Will Be Blood” runs more than 2½ hours and Daniel Day-Lewis is on screen almost constantly. Smeared with oil and plagued by alcoholism, he plays prospector Daniel Plainview who, while seeking precious metal under the earth, stumbles on oil. Plainview becomes the consummate ‘oil man’… one who possesses exceptional knowledge of all that is involved in locating, obtaining, and delivering ‘black gold’.

Daniel Day-Lewis has made a career of breathing life into film characters that dominate the screen. Here, he presents us with a brutal but magnificent portrayal of Daniel Plainview. It is both wonderful and terrible to observe Lewis’s creation. It is an experience in witnessing, at close range, a person given to fits of intense brutality and a man who has no redeeming qualities. Further, we are doomed to watch as he descends into what, in the end, appears to be a kind of murderous insanity.

So, the spoiler is not that bad. You still don’t know how this all happens. You only have to decide if Lewis’s bravura performance will be worth enduring the constant presence of the unappetizing Daniel Plainview, who seems to careen from one distasteful episode to the next with little relief. Paul Thomas Anderson is to be credited for the excellent direction. He also wrote the screenplay…adapted from the first part of Sinclair’s book. It is, in many ways, a fascinating tale that provides insight in to what things may have been like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the untamed west…a time and place where there were fortunes to be found and made.

Ultimately, I judge “There Will Be Blood” to be a superb piece of cinematic work. It is because, love him or, more likely, hate him, Daniel Plainview is very memorable. His words and deeds will haunt your thoughts even after you leave the theater.

I'm giving this film an "A" on Ellen's Entertainment Report Card.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano
Producers: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi
MPAA Rating: Rated R for some violence.
Running Time: 158 minutes
*******************************************************
Ellen Kimball is a pioneer talk show host - one of the first women to host her own daily AM radio call-in talk shows in both Miami and Boston. Ellen and her husband Al are both retired in Oregon where they have resided since 1998. Ellen contributes her reviews on film, books, and theater, to Portland's Accessible Information Network, which is heard locally in Oregon and southern Washington, as well as on the Internet.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. I can't wait to see this. The trailers looked epic and evil.

Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the best. Thanks for the review.

[Radio_Lady]

2. Does anyone else plan to see this film soon? If so, please let us know YOUR opinion.

There are also some interesting comments by both reviewers and moviegoers at:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/there_will_be_blood/

http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0469494/

This film actually opened on December 26, 2007, in limited release, to qualify for award consideration.

Today, the film sits in the Top 250 movies of all time at the Internet Movie Database. It's listed at #44 with more than 4,800 votes. I find that rather astonishing to say the least. Although I liked some of Director Paul Thomas Anderson's former work, I'm not sure this outing deserves all the kudos it appears to be getting.

Finally, it will be interesting to see whether this film becomes a commercial success or not.

Thanks for your comments.

Radio Lady in Oregon

[Radio_Lady]

3. Will this movie lure YOU in? Is it Oscar worthy? Opinions welcomed here.