Review of There Will Be Blood (2007) by Reece L — 20 Oct 2014

Intelligent, complex, endlessly quotable, and featuring a typically brilliant performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood" is Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece on the morality of capitalism and all subsequent enterprises that it influences or creates altogether, the self-serving nature of religious institutions (who indoctrinate, serve as an opiate for, and oppress the masses) and their partnership with establishment structures for the assurance of personal wealth and longevity, the vice-grip the wealthy have on the lower classes through total integration, the systematic corruption that this brand of governance breeds, the relationships between fathers and sons (or between generations), the nature of greed, and, ultimately, the tearing down of the myth of the American dream.

Anderson hasn't just brought to life an inditement of everything America stands for with masterful execution, every aspect of the production of impeccable quality (the sound design, cinematography, and score are unbelievable), nor has he just cemented his place as one of the defining American auteurs in cinema, but he's created my favorite film and one that should automatically be considered to be on the short list of the greatest films ever made.