There Will Be Blood

Don't let the title fool you, there isn't that much, and what little there is could never be considered gratuitous enough to warrant such a title. I am well aware that this movie is based on the novel "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair and that it was the neighboring set to "No Country For Old Men" and I can only come to the conclusion that the combination of these to factors encouraged Paul Thomas Anderson to try and make the most pretentious movie possible.

I cannot fault the acting, but then how could you when Daniel Day Lewis is the lead, the plot itself is intensely satisfying and the script is good. The characters themselves are well developed, and you can appreciate their situation and motives.

Plus there are a couple of times when you really start wanting a particular thing to happen because you know that it is for the best, and then it does happen and you will smile. I'm sorry for being vague there but you are best experiencing those moments with virgin eyes just so that you can really appreciate how fucking sweet they are.

There, that's the praise out of the way.

The score of There Will Be Blood is a bit unusual, and I mean that in the sense that on many occasions it has little to do with what is actually happening on screen. I'm told that this is a subtle hint at the madness going on inside Daniel Plainview's head as he grows ever more greedy and lustful, but even that doesn't make sense most of the time.

Long drawn out camera shots and entire scenes with no dialogue or explanation. Yes I am smart enough to figure out that he was mining for silver when he happened upon his first well, but I see no reason why the entire cast should have their heads down and mouths shut as if they were in some Nazi concentration camp. That is not artful movie making, it is conceited, arrogant and unrealistic.

It is a sad blight upon the modern movie industry that directors are now so interested in filling their movies with such lengthy mundanities in the hope that some wizened old geriatric with a stick up his bum on the Cannes selection board will pick up the movie and nominate it for the Film To Masturbate Your Soul And Being Over. I'm willing to bet that James King said this movie is one of the movies of the year, but I find it hard to respect the opinion of a man who could sing such high praises for that P.O.S. Spiderman 3.

And speaking of James King leads me nicely into saying that there has been a lot of band wagon jumping on this movie, but don't let the sheep fool you, whilst well scripted and supremely well acted you will find yourself struggling to maintain interest throughout the movie.

There Will Be Blood is an over-rated movie, and the people who are holding it up to such high praise I can guarantee are the same people who point out to you just how much they like Citizen Kane, A Clockwork Orange and Foreign Movie With Subtitles.

Rating: C (And I'm truly disappointed to have to do so)