There Will Be Blood (2007)

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Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Writers: Paul Thomas Anderson, based on a novel by Upton Sinclair

Stars: Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciaran Hinds, Dillon Freasier, Russell Harvard, Sydney McCallister



Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis), a man filled with hatred and disdain for the human race, spends his life sucking oil from the ground and amassing a fortune.

 


His power and wealth allow him to look down on the rest of humanity but cannot protect him from his own self-contempt.

 


Paul Thomas Anderson's epic film is a deeply cynical meditation on two forces that defined the rise of America, entrepreneurialism and religion. 



It features great performances and a magnificent evocation of the oil fields of the West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 



There are many fascinating aspects of this film, but the most interesting may be Plainview's lifelong enmity toward the charismatic preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), whose flock represents for Plainview all that is gullible and foolish in people. 



The two men humiliate each other in several remarkable scenes, most notably the one in which Plainview is coerced into joining the church in order to gain some land rights; it's a tour de force performance from Day Lewis.

 


Jonny Greenwood's extraordinary, unique soundtrack is unexpected but totally appropriate. 



I'm sure that this rich film will reward many repeat viewings.


Spoiler alert!!! From the end of the movie!!












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