Daniel Day-Lewis

Paul Dano

Kevin J. O'Connor

Ciarán Hinds

Dillon Freasier

Hope Elizabeth Reeves

Colleen Foy

Barry Del Sherman

David Willis

Hans Howes

Sydney McCallister

Paul F. Tompkins

Kevin Breznahan

Jim Meskimen

Erica Sullivan

Randall Carver

Coco Leigh

James Downey

David Warshofsky

Charles Thomas Doyle

Russell Harvard

Martin Stringer

Matthew Braden Stringer

Jacob Stringer

Joseph Mussey

Harrison Taylor

Stockton Taylor

Christine Olejniczak

Kellie Hill

Dan Swallow

Robert Arber

Bob Bell

David Williams

Joy Rawls

Louise Gregg

Amber Roberts

John W. Watts

Robert Caroline

Barry Bruce

Irene G. Hunter

John Chitwood

Colton Woodward

John Burton

Robert Barge

Ronald Krut

Huey Rhudy

Steven Barr

Robert Hills

Bob Bock

Vince Froio

Phil Shelly

Brad Carr

Mary Elizabeth Barrett

Rhonda Reeves

Beau Smith

Dylan Tichenor

Daniel Lupi

Cassandra Kulukundis

Paul Thomas Anderson

JoAnne Sellar

Jack Fisk

Robert Elswit

Upton Sinclair

Joel Corry

Mark Bridges

Jeff Habberstad

Myke Schwartz

Jim Erickson

Mark Manthey

David Crank

Linda D. Flowers

Melinda Sue Gordon

François Duhamel

Eden Clark Coblenz

Anna Rane

Paul Rabjohns

Linda Cohen

John Blake

Brad Blei

Susan Greenhow

Tim Nielsen

Catherine Conrad

Christina Graff

Mark Hanks

Jack Colmenero

Grady Cofer

Paul Graff

J.R. Grubbs

Jeff Sawyer

Carl J. Stensel

Brian Avery

Sharon Ray Ely

Jamey Pryde

Kenny Becker

Scott Rudin

Will Weiske

Eric Schlosser

Erica Frauman

Adam Somner

Eric Richard Lasko

Jose Ludlow

Robby Baumgartner

Mark Graziano

Yeşim "Shimmy" Osman

Thomas J. O'Connell

Hugo Weng

Sarah Monat

David Horton Jr.

Michelle Elaine Teague

Robin Harlan

John Pritchett

Kimberly Adams

Kathy Kiatta

Bruce Tanis

Christian Eubank

Shawn Patrick Lane

Yvonne Wilburn

Kim Ayers

Randy Singer

Jake Lombard

Paul Sklar

Frank Lloyd

David M. Roberts

Vanessa Lapato

Ryan Happy

Steve Cremin

Rick Canelli

Andrew Bock

Brandon K. McLaughlin

Mark Muñoz

Denney Pierce

Keii Johnston

Scott Sproule

Jay King

Richard Oswald

Adam Watkins

Coya Elliott

Larry M. Shorts

Douglas D. Ziegler

Ian Stone

Jonny Greenwood

Arvo Pärt

Michael Semanick

Matthew Wood

Tom Johnson

Chris Scarabosio

Dan Perri

Ruth De Jong

Drama

There Will Be Blood

Paramount Vantage

Miramax

JoAnne Sellar Productions

Ghoulardi Film Company

United States of America

English

california

petrol

sibling relationship

based on novel or book

capitalism

pastor

deaf-mute

american dream

narcissism

fanatic

father

baptism

misanthrophy

money

religion

church

killer

alcoholic

oil industry

child abandonment

dual role

character study

zealot

bowling alley

sign languages

turn of the century

19th century

adopted son

1900s

personality change

pipeline

20th century

1890s

milkshake

intense

oilfields

Great movie, not a spaghetti western. Very good story and atmosphere 10 stars.

***Weighty, morose period drama with complex characters and Daniel Day-Lewis*** 

In the early 20th century, an industrious prospector in Southern California, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), becomes a shrewd oil magnate, whose journey is paralleled with a dubious Pentecostal pastor of a remote church, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano).     

“There Will Be Blood” (2007) is a one-of-a-kind period drama with Western elements. It’s arty and the furthest thing from a conventional blockbuster. You have to be in the mode for a deep, slow-moving, epic flick like this in order to appreciate it. The contemporaneous “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and “No Country for Old Men” are good comparisons.  

Whilst the story and main characters are simple on the surface, they go deep and there are many gems to mine: What good is success if you have no one to love and enjoy it with? Is Daniel a sociopath or a quality individual who acquires sociopathic tendencies because his choices put him on the road of madness? Was Eli a “false prophet”? If so, was he always a con or did he become one? 

Why is Eli paralleled with Daniel? Does Daniel have the capacity for genuine love? Does he mean what he ultimately says to HW or are they words born from a sense of betrayal? Would a sane person rashly resort to murder? Is there a positive protagonist in the movie? If so, who and why? If not, why not?    

The film runs 2 hours, 38 minutes, and was shot in Southern Cal and Texas (Shafter & Marfa); and Lakewood, Washington (Thornewood Castle).

GRADE: B

CinemaSerf

I remember reading about just how much money Rockefeller was making at the height of his prowess and the sums were eye watering. His Standard Oil company is referenced in this powerful drama with Daniel Day Lewis as “Plainview”. He’s a prospector looking for silver but who has a bit of a fall and discovers that there is something much more valuable and plentiful - if you know how to find it, He gradually buys up leases and together with his stalwart “Fletcher” (Ciarán Hinds) and young son “H.W.” (Dillon Freasier) starts to develop his business with a view to building a pipeline of over one hundred miles  to reach the sea. Along the way, their lives are fraught with dangers and tough choices have to be made - especially when an accident at one of the wells renders the young boy deaf. It’s at this remote site that “Plainview”meets his nemesis. Not in a competitive, business, fashion - but in a puritanical Christian one. The son of a local homesteader is aspiring preacher “Eli” (Paul Dano) and the remainder of the film sees the one trying to humiliate and outmanoeuvre the other and disclaim each’s strongly held values. It’s a slow burn, this film, but DDL is on super form as a man striving for success but for it’s own purpose. His wealth does not bring him contentedness nor, for that matter, does it bring joy to anyone else. This also demonstrates just how poor rural parts of the USA were at the turn of the 20th century, and at how vulnerable the population were to exploitation and the venality of the oilmen. The photography is immersive and the pace works well in drawing us into the perfectly constructed characterisations that were the natural successors to the earlier pioneers. I didn’t love the conclusion. It seemed a little unnecessary, underwhelming - rushed even. The last ten minutes have an intensity of their own that though they well illustrate the skill of Dano and DDL, they just didn’t quite wrap things up as I might have liked. Still, it’s a great piece of cinema with some strong writing underpinning a series of lusts….

James

A hypnotic flight into the darkness of the soul and how people hide themselves away. A masterfully directed feat, There Will Be Blood shows the very limits of selfishness and greed which are further encapsulated by Day-Lewis’ mind-blowing and unique performance of which could be easily called the greatest of all time. Every person who worked on this seem as if they are masters of their crafts, even the child actors, whose performances are stunning. Day-Lewis has excellent chemistry with Paul Dano’s egoistical preacher, who was very much snubbed for the best actor category. With some of the best cinematography ever brought to film, this is truly one of the all time greats.

Official Trailer

There Will Be Blood( 2007)

There will be greed. There will be vengeance.

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A review by j4ni

Written by j4ni on Mon Jul 29 2019

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