There Will Be Blood - A+

In theaters. Rated R, 158 minutes. Trailer. Script.

After two viewings and 8 days to think it over, I was still wrestling with this one last week when it finally clicked: this is a film for the ages, so stark and original as to draw comparisons to Raging Bull, Citizen Kane, Godfather 2, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The repeat viewing helped put everything in perspective, and I think it will just keep getting better.

The opening shot of the barren landscape with the ominous electronic chord playing is an ode to 2001: a Space Odyssey. The above ground monolith is replaced with the below ground monolith: oil and the greed that comes with it. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is in constant servanthood to the greed within him. Click below to keep reading There Will Be Blood.

After adopting an orphaned baby as a calculated move to help him buy up oil land, he finds success and ends up in a town called Little Boston after buying the Sunday ranch. The sale of the ranch is contentious because of the son of the owner, Eli Sunday, a phony preacher that tries to compete with Daniel for dominance in the town. The remainder of the film revolves around the reslationship between Daniel and Eli and Daniel and HW.

The acting, direction, cinematography and score are all among the best of the last decade, and in Day-Lewis' case, of all time. The one weak point in the film for me was Paul Dano, who I did not enjoy as Eli Sunday. Compared with Day-Lewis, it would be hard for anyone to standout, but I just was not impressed by the performance. The scenes with the fire and the gusher are nothing short of astonishing, and the sequence setting the pipeline is gorgeous and expertly paced, culminating in a great shot of Daniel in the ocean washing over the camera.

While most reviews deem Plainview a monster, I find him to be a sympathetic character. PT Anderson gives only small snippets into his past through his 'brother from another mother' that comes and visits him. The pain he feels after his brother departs is genuine and speaks to the human that lies beneath all of the hatred he has built up 'little by little.' The final scene with HW is heartbreaking, as Daniel sits in his Citizen Kane mansion and lashes out at HW because of the distance between them, not knowing how to be a human. He sleeps on the floor in the bowling alley, cooking his food on the floor and wearing old, holey boots. He is not comfortable in his extraordinary mansion, and only feels at home fighting for his life.

The competition between Plainview and Sunday for the town, one offering God, the other money, is well done and complicated. The relationship goes south quickly after HW's accident, as Daniel reels from his inability to communicate with the one person on earth he has feelings for. Plainview seemingly stops at nothing to needle Sunday and his father, favoring and protecting the daughter at every chance. Sunday's one moment of triumph comes when Plainview has to 'repent' in order to get the rights to put the pipeline through a crucial piece of property, and he forces Daniel to declare that he has abandoned his child, over and over. The sequence is heartbreaking and powerful, as Plainview's guilt comes through in one of the most well-acted scenes in film history. Sunday, too, will have a similar self-denial in the pursuit of money involving the same tract of land, in the final scene of the film.

Many reviewers have dismissed the final scene (just like with No Country For Old Men), but I found it to be a fitting end to the story. The acting is again amazing, with Plainview's homicidal ranting and Sunday's snake-oil deals being spun. The set decoration takes a symmetrical cue from Kubrick and the final line speaks to Plainview's life: "I'm finished."

Anderson explores several themes with this film. The most well developed is the impact of greed and ambition. The very things that make someone a success (ruthlesssness, dissatisfaction, and hunger) are the same things that keep that person from happiness and real emotional connections. Religion is dealt with through Eli, but the believers were not portrayed negatively at all. Though not explicitly stated, I think Magnolia's theme of 'you may be through with the past, but the past isn't through with you' is manifested through Daniel's behavior and hunger.

In the final analysis, this is one for the ages. Like other films in my pantheon, it surveys a tortured male soul and father/son relationships with depth and and unflinching perspective.