There Will Be Blood

Note: What follows is not a comprehensive review of There Will Be Blood. This is a tremendous film on many levels and scores of pages could be written about it. Here are some of my thoughts. Go see the movie and add some of your own.

When Hollywood tackles the big issues like greed and religion (even in pretty good movies like American Gangster) there tends to be a good deal of sermonizing. Watching these “message” movies, it often feels as if the filmmakers are worried that the audience will miss the moral if they don’t repeatedly slap our faces with it. So a movie whose poster is emblazoned with the tagline “Where Ambition Meets Faith”, has the potential to be quite heavy handed. The real treat of There Will be Blood is that it steers clear of this in favor of much more restrained and interesting ruminations on these topics.

This is achieved primarily through good old fashioned commitment to the elements of fiction. The setting, character, and plot are all established with time and respect so the themes of the film arise organically. Central California at the turn of the 19th century is not just a backdrop, it becomes a three dimensional landscape. The characters do not come across as archetypes. Oil man Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is not greed personified; nor do the poor farmers that he attempts to swindle come to represent all the workers of the world. Instead they feel like actual people in a genuine conflict and it is only upon reflection of their interactions that the “meaning” of the film comes into focus.

This effort on the part of the filmmakers allows for a far more engaging viewing experience (however the tone and subject matter of the film keep it from being labeled actually enjoyable). The addition of immense acting from Day-Lewis (who can reveal more motivation with the muscles around his eyes than most actors can with their whole body) gives the picture additional depth. There are times where his talent makes the commitment of the supporting casts (who are by no means amateurs) seem lackluster.

Some critics are identifying There Will Be Blood as a creative departure for director-writer Paul Thomas Anderson. It can be argued that this film actually fits nicely into Anderson’s canon, particularly alongside Boogie Nights and Magnolia. These three films take a uniquely California story and used it to explore facets of human experience. All rely on a strong set of dynamic characters to draw viewers through their extended running times. Each has bold musical choices that add new textures to the piece. With each film Anderson has become better at disappearing behind his work and letting his strong writing and clear vision run free. Hollywood likes to fence in its filmmakers so that audiences know what to expect when they go see a P.T. Anderson (or Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, or Woody Allen) movie. It is disappointing that simply because the film is full of old-timey mustaches that it is not recognized as a logical next step for this talented auteur.