A Gushing Moment of Praise (There Will Be Blood (DVD))

Member Name: utero

Product:	There Will Be Blood (DVD)
Date:	27/07/08 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Performances, Well Directed

Disadvantages: Nothing

It was a tough race in awards season this year with the Coen's A Country For Old Men coming out on top. The other main contender was Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, a film that quite rightly recognized the work of its lead actor Daniel Day Lewis with the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The film is set in the late 1800's where a silver miner Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) turns his hand to drilling for oil on the barren landscapes of America. When a worker dies on one o his sites, he takes the man's orphaned son as his own, using him as a foil to elicit trust. Plainview starts to buy up land from struggling farmers and starts to really take control of the fledgling oil industry.

After receiving a tip-off from the son of a farmer about the potential of some farm land, Plainview buys the land and set's up major drilling but has to contend with the twin brother of his informant, a holy man Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) whose insistence on integrating Daniel into his church goes against Plainviews beliefs and causes many conflicts.

For me There Will Be Blood is about the greed and lust for power that one man has and what it makes him become. In an industry associated with greed, this is the depiction of how it all began with a few men being aggressive in their dealings to get more power over their competitors.

Once again Paul Thomas Anderson shows that as a filmmaker he is not one to be pigeon holed, casting an eye on cinematic vision whilst also having a knack for writing scripts that sprawl but also entertain and engage. I didn't much care for Punch Drunk Love but this is definitely a return to form and evokes some of the classic filmmakers such as John Ford. There are some wonderfully shot scenes and beautifully written characters to fill the two hours plus.

Of course all of this really comes together with the casting of Daniel Day Lewis as Plainview. Quite simply it is a performance that holds your attention from the moment he comes on screen. The character is very well faceted, a man intent on power, quite fearsome but also full of love for a boy that's not his son. With a distinct American accent, Lewis creates a formidable character. His scenes with Dano are heightened with tension and brilliantly played out. In a way he actually overshadows the work of Paul Dano in the film, an actor who up until know I'd only seen in a teen movie and the great Little Miss Sunshine, but he's certainly one to keep an eye on.

The score from Radioheads Johnny Greenwood also gives the film something different, at times it's ambient, other's incredibly minimal but it works within the backdrop of the film.

I really thought this was a fantastic film and in any other year it probably would have cleaned up in awards season.

- The DVD -

The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen and it looks stunning. Robert Elswit's cinematography captures sprawling landscapes with a contrast of sepia tones and the disc does them justice.
The Dolby Digital soundtrack is also good for atmosphere, serving the musical score well and coming to life whenever there's a bit explosion or gushing of oil.

- Extras -

On previous Paul Thomas Anderson's previous movies there have always been good extras.

On this disc the only thing was a featurette called '15 Minute's'. This is an edited sequence of film scenes interspersed with photos and documents as well as production art depicting the period in which the film is set. It's a nice idea.

- Finally -

A great film, beautifully shot, well directed and featuring an amazing lead performance. Fans of true cinema will find much to enjoy.

Summary: A great film worthy of the awards attention