I had high expectations for this movie.    This, along with ‘No Country for Old Men’ (see my review dated March 20th), were two movies that I really wanted to see.   So last night I sat down with a bag of popcorn, propped my feet up and settled in to watch Daniel Day-Lewis at his best.    I got that… but little else.

The movie follows the life oil baron Daniel Plainview.    From his impoverished beginnings when he first discovered oil while digging for gold/silver – all the way beyond his untold accumulation of wealth to a bitter, and lonely reckoning.   Unfortunately the character of Daniel Plainview never grows, never learns anything about life, or generally never gives a damn about anyone other than himself.    Since every other character and event in the movie is nothing more than a means to display Daniels views on life as he progresses down the beaten path – and since he never waivers in his conviction that he hates all men, you’re left to wonder what this movie was about.    The scenery and construction of the sets were good.    Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal of this one-dimensional character was great, but beyond that the movie left me with an empty feeling (and missing the nearly 3 hours of my life I gave up to watch the movie).

I will say that the first 15 minutes or so of the movie was really good.    Without any dialog at all, we come to see just how driven this character is to succeed.    He ignores all pain, and conceals all emotion in his drive to get what he wants.    This is portrayed when he falls down the shaft of his gold/silver mine and breaks his leg.    Now keep in mind that miles and miles of desert and mountains stand between him and the nearest human being.   Does he fear the probability of not being able to get to help and dying alone?   Not at all.    Without missing a beat, he drags himself across the scorching earth while carting a handful of precious metal.    This guy is beyond army tough.

If you like Daniel Day-Lewis like I do, then this movie might be worth a rental.    But keep in mind that the character doesn’t stretch his abilities as an actor.     Personally I’d say pass on it and rent ‘Last of the Mohicans’ (1992).    On my scale of 1 – 5 with 5 being a great movie, I’d give ‘There Will Be Blood’ a disappointed 2.5.

Click on the images below to order this movie or ‘Last of the Mohicans’ from Amazon.

 

 

Until next time, thank God there will be blood because that’s about the only think pulsing in this movie.   J/W