Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

**BEWARE, HERE BE SPOILERS**









I had high hopes for this movie. I had heard much about it, knew it has received many Oscar nominations, and knew it starred Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role. I was so amazed at Day-Lewis' performance as Bill the Butcher in "Gangs of New York" that I knew I had to see this film.

Well, I paid my $5 to see it, and while I can't say I wish I hadn't seen it and hadn't paid to see it, I cannot recommend it either.

The acting is pretty good. There are a few very good scenes in the movie when the actors have a chance to shine. Day-Lewis plays the oil baron Daniel Plainview, and although his performance is as splendid as can be expected, it can also be described by part of the character's name - plain. We don't really get to know Plainview very well in the course of this movie. He doesn't seem to enjoy anything or have any reason for what he does. He's greedy, yes, but doesn't do much with his greed. I think the moral of the story is that, ultimately, money doesn't buy happiness. No amount of money can redeem a man like Daniel Plainview.

I hate to compare this movie to "Gangs of New York" and this character to Bill the Butcher, but the mustache compels me. Bill was a villain, just as much as the character in this movie, but he was very charismatic. Plainview is only charismatic on the surface, and only when he's trying to get what he wants. Bill the Butcher is a memorable character you enjoy remembering. I can't say the same for Daniel Plainview.

I also didn't like the plot, what little of it there was. A few minutes ago, I read a review of this movie in which the writer complains about the lack of plot, and I agree with him very much. The movie just drifts along, not bothering to explain much of anything. You can't have a climax without a buildup, and there's no buildup here. I think part of my dislike of the film comes from the lack of diversity in settings. The bulk of the story takes place in a little town in the middle of the California desert. You can see for miles around, but there's not much to see in the first place.

What did I like? I really enjoyed the acting of the supposed half-brother of Plainview's who shows up out of nowhere in the middle of the movie. He is played by someone named Kevin J. O'Connor, and I thought his character and personality to be much more interesting than those of Plainview. I also liked the interaction between Plainview and his adopted "son," who doesn't evne seem to have a real name, just two initials. I wish we had seen more of their relationship when the son becomes a man and starts to see his foster father for what he truly is. The son, H.W., becomes deaf as a child after an oil accident, and I thought that part of his story colored the father/son relationship quite well. Plainview just doesn't know how to interact with this seemingly new child.

I also enjoyed the cinematography. There's a general lack of color, but the photographers make good use of dark places and dark things. This is a film meant to be seen on the big screen, making you feel the dirt and mud and filth surrounding the men in holes in the ground.

And what of the ending? Well, looking back, I think it's as good a place to end the film as any. You can't expect a story with no plot to come to a fitting conclusion. What does take place is a moment of action that settles the score between two characters, allowing one to decisively win. No consequences, no explanations, just a man and the thing he's done. You can take the last words of the movie any way you want, but I think Daniel is telling us his realization of what has happened to him.

I didn't enjoy this movie. The acting is good, but not brilliant. The look of the film is beautiful, but not enough to redeem the poor script. I sat there watching and wondering when something interesting would happen, fully aware that I was watching a movie in a theater. It didn't pull me in, and a good movie must do just that. Not recommended, even with the Oscar nominations.