Review of There Will Be Blood (2007) by Neymar N — 25 Nov 2014

Paul Thomas Anderson's uncompromising and downright frightening thesis about the rise of American capitalism is both in terms of substance and style one of the finest American films ever made. It is a complete turnaround from what the writer-director has done before.

There Will Be Blood doesn't have the immense cast of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, nor the comic absurdity of Punch-Drunk Love. There is only one man and his inner rapacity, confliction and eventual putrefaction.

But with a few important characters, minimal story and setting, Anderson manages to say much more about human nature and its complexities than any other filmmaker in years. There Will Be Blood is about greed, how it takes over our humanity and how we use our seemingly benevolent features to justify it.

Daniel Plainview introduces himself as a benign businessman willing to help other people and communities, while deep inside he only cares about profit, and Eli Sunday claims to follow the word of God, but even he is willing to forsake Him in order to redeem himself.

Through the confrontation of these two characters, Anderson constructs a sweeping and deeply thoughtful character study in which not a single second is wasted. Daniel Day-Lewis is mind-boggling in the lead role, and Paul Dano isn't much weaker either.

Robert Elswit's cinematography is beautifully picturesque, and Jonny Greenwood's pitch-perfect soundtrack creates an appropriately nightmarish atmosphere in the background. There Will Be Blood is a heavy and challenging film, but also rewarding, important and always timely; Anderson's best work to date, and an instant classic.