There Will Be Blood is based on the novel "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair. The movie is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie is about oil man Daniel Plainview and his unrelenting business drive to unearth black gold in Little Boston, California. Along the way some townsfolk, including faith-healer Eli Sunday try to stand in his way.
We were promised blood and it was delivered. Judging by many of the critics who saw this movie before me I was also promised an amazing movie, one of the year's best, according to most. That was not quite delivered.
What was delivered:
-Top notch acting. Daniel Day-Lewis is once again worthy of every ounce of praise bestowed upon him. He takes the character of Daniel Plainview by the balls and unleashes hell. Paul Dano is making a name for himself quickly by throwing down his second strong performance in a row (Little Miss Sunshine).
-Beautiful scenery. Every shot is framed up with a keen eye. Paul Thomas Anderson knows how to sell a story with pictures and this is his most effective work to date. There are so many wide sweeping shots that give the audience the feeling of being dropped off by the DeLorean right in the middle of the early 1900s.
-A true fear of the movie's main characters. For any film to be effective the audience has to be invested in the characters on the screen. It's why movies like Alien Vs. Predator aren't winning over movie goers. No one care whether Billy and Bonnie live or die. I cared about Eli and Daniel and H.W. and all of the other characters. Of course caring can mean I hoped that they would die, but that still means I cared!
What wasn't delivered:
-Any sense of continuity. The movie bounced around from scene to scene, from decade to decade moving the story along, but never really going back to close up loose ends. Yes, the story made sense, but scenes never followed the path laid out by the scene before it.
-Any closure. Yes, the movie has an ending. And yes things get solved. But I left the theater wondering what happened to so many different things. Many promises were made and so many of them were never delivered.
In Closing:
Magnolia is one of the most acclaimed movies of the last quarter century. It is the best role I have ever seen Tom Cruise play. Too bad the movie is also one of the most overrated pieces of crap I have ever seen. Yes, the acting is perfect. However, Magnolia is the best example I can think of to prove that amazing acting isn't enough to save a movie.
There Will Be Blood proves this point again. Granted, this movie is a million times better than Magnolia, but the acting, as great as it was, wasn't enough to make me love the film. I feel like most people who rate this movie are grading it simply on Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano and not on the movie as a whole.
The other big connection between Magnolia and There Will Be Blood? They were both written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. ApparentlyI just don't like his movies (Punch Drunk Love included). I will give him this credit though, he gets the best out of everyone he directs.
Plot (The Story): 8
Script (The Dialog): 7
Directing: 9
FX / Sound: 10
Casting: 10
Acting: 10
Pacing: 8
Conclusion: 6
Overall Entertainment: 15
TOTAL: 83
MOVIE GRADE: B
For the record here are the grade ranges:
100 - 97 = A+
96 - 93 = A
92 - 90 = A-
89 - 87 = B+
86 - 83 = B
82 - 80 = B-
You Get The Point
70's = Cs
60's = D's
59 and below is F
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