Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

“No blood for oil” read many of the placards brandished by protesters of the US-led invasion of Iraq. As Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), the protagonist in Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest offering, might put it: “No oil without blood.”

In many ways, There Will Be Blood is a standard “American dream” story: Plainview, a lowly oil prospector at the start of the 20th century, builds his own oil empire through grit, determination and some questionable methods, and at the expense of everyone around him. His insatiable appetite for oil leads him to the impoverished ranch of moon-faced evangelical preacher Eli Sunday, played with suitable self-righteous piety by Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine). But even the threat of eternal damnation will not steer Plainview from his greedy path.

Portraying a character obsessed comes easily to Day-Lewis, whose commitment to method acting is well known, and he really does embody every aspect of Plainview’s mania alarmingly well. Anderson’s direction has matured from the cocaine-fueled Boogie Nights and Magnolia, but his striking attention to detail and ability to drive a narrative remain. The film’s opening ten minutes are wordless but manage to establish the sheer single-mindedness of Plainview and transport you back to early 20th century America. The most disjointing aspect is the film’s original score written by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, which screeches its way through the movie and adds little to the experience. Anderson’s film is perhaps the best crafted of his career, and also a damning indictment of our current attitudes and dependency on oil.