Plot Overview
“I have a competition in me. I don’t want anyone else to succeed. I hate most people. There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to rule and never, ever explain myself. I’ve built my hatreds up little by little over the years…” This is just one of the monologues spoken by a monstrously despicable man, whose heart must be so black that there are no redeeming qualities whatsoever about him. His name is Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), an oil prospector, who, over the years, becomes a multi-millionaire in the business by drilling wells all over the American West. He has an adopted son, H.W., who he uses as a prop to buy land and the story takes off when they arrive to a small town in Arizona, where Plainview meets an evangelic priest Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), who needs the money to build a new church. The tale becomes an examination of religion, hatred, capitalism and greed as seen through the prism of one man’s life.

The Good
This is a major departure for writer/director P.T. Anderson, a maverick filmmaker still in his thirties, whose flawless body of work includes masterpieces, such as Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999). This is also his first literary adaptation, as There Will Be Blood is loosely based on the 1927 Upton Sinclair novel Oil!. Anderson’s film is a sprawling American epic, an operatic, macabre Western that spans generations and does not really conform to anything ever seen before. It is an ambitious, massive undertaking on both dramatic and emotional grounds, considering that its 158-minute run feels like a ticking bomb. The film is masterfully executed, particularly in regards to many beautiful landscape and tracking shots, gorgeous cinematography, compelling musical score and a terrific production design. Most of all, the picture is propelled by Daniel Day-Lewis’s volcanic, unparalleled performance, which at times feels overwhelming, explosive and terrifying.

The Bad
The movie is highly reminiscent of the works by Stanley Kubrick and will undoubtedly be compared to classics by some other directors, such as Days of Heaven (1978), Citizen Kane (1941) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). As much as Anderson borrows from his predecessors, There Will Be Blood is entirely his picture.

Final Word
There Will Be Blood seems like the kind of movie that people will deconstruct and analyze for years to come. There is so much depth in it that repeated viewings are needed to fully absorb the range of emotion and complexity present. It is an uncompromising, psychological and harrowing character study that embodies pure craftsmanship and filmmaking of the highest rank. This is a bold, fascinating tale that also makes references to a crucial time in the American history and makes a point regarding our politics and economy. It is brutal and bleak, but at the same time, it serves as a visceral film-going experience. Approaching its climax, there are individual scenes that are constructed in such an original and bizarre manner that there is nothing that really looks or feels like it. It is a marvel.