There Will Be Blood [Movie]

[Reckoner]

So I happened to watch this grand film over the weekend, and I am interested in everyone's opinion on the movie (for those who have viewed it).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469494/
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramo...estictrailer1/

There Will Be Blood is centered around the story of the Californian Oil Industry, but it delves into deep topics, mainly dark ones. There is no nudity, it's rated R because of certain gruesome scenes.

I personally thought that this was the best film of 2007 easily, it's even above No Country For Old Men, which I originally considered the best movie of the year. This movie quickly became a top ten favorite of mine. The last line of the movie was just so great as well .

Daniel Day Lewis's acting in this film was goddamn good.

[Sorrow-K]

Better than No Country For Old Men? I'll believe it when I see it.

Nonetheless, I've been intrigued by the film for a while, but your glowing acclaim has just put it on my "must-see" list. Pity it doesn't come out here til February.

[Samari]

I want to see both movies. I think I'll go see them tomorrow. Both look off the chain. Then I can come back here and converse about it.

[Reckoner]

I forgot to mention that There Will Be Blood is a slow movie, not quite your action paced Bourne movie. If you don't mind that I'm sure all you guys will like it.

[Sorrow-K]

Bumping an old thread no one was really interested in anyway!

I saw this last night. Brilliant, but I wouldn't put it above No Country For Old Men (or even Atonement for that matter). No Country For Old Men was just such a well made piece of cinema, and it was almost delicious in the way in which it reveled in the sinister forces (both human and divine) that drove the story. This was more a character study, a fascinating one which had so many aspects to it, but it lacked a certain impact that No Country For Old Men had. It's hard to explain. Both films demanded so much reflection and thought about them after you finished watching them, but No Country For Old Men really shook me to the core. My reasons for liking Atonement are far more superficial, since it wasn't anywhere near as deep as either of the other two films, but it had brilliant cinematography and powerful drama. I think the only reason for me putting it above There Will Be Blood is, again, just a matter of how personal impact.

Mark my word, though, Daniel Day Lewis will walk away with the Oscar. His performance was incredible. He just loses himself in the character. And what an incredible character it was.

Spoiler:

I just loved how decrepit Plainview becomes as he accumulates more and more wealth. It's like anti-character development. His humanity virtually disintegrates. I loved how that search for family panned out as well. He was so desperately looking for someone who could understand him, I think, which came out in his interactions with his "brother", yet he reacted so violently when he realized he had no family.

And yes, the ending was just delicious. I read a review about it which forwarded an interesting observation about the symbolism of that scene, ie

Spoiler:

that it was a comment on the interaction between capitalism and religion at large. I was also talking to a work colleague who put forward another opinion on the scene, ie that it was Plainview dealing with "unfinished" business (ie, his personal view on the whole religion thing and Eli's church).

Brilliant film, though. I'd have no complaints about it winning the Oscar, even though I'd personally prefer No Country For Old Man to take the gong. Both films demand a second viewing, though, which is what I'll be doing when the DVDs come out.

[Quzor]

I'm glad to see so many good reviews about this movie. The fact that No Country For Old Men (my favorite film of the Oscar year thus far) is able to be mentioned in the same breath as this film, gives it great credit, in my mind. I'll have to make sure to put this at the top of my "to see" list now.

[Reckoner]

I think I read somewhere that Daniel Day Lewis would not respond to anyone during the filming of this movie unless they called him Daniel Plainview .

@Sorrow_K

It seems that I didn't really feel the hit from No Country for Old Men like you did. It wasn't like I didn't understand the point of the movie, the whole ending scene was about death and other topics, but I'll admit that is was quite entertaining.

I on the contrary was hit by this movie. It's rare to be afraid of what a character will do, even when he isn't killing people. It was just so dark and foreboding. I really felt though that the character of Daniel Plainview actually loved his son despite certain events at the end. He just became so twisted with no one to trust or rely on that he eventually saw anything small as a direct attack on him.

Anyhow, I don't mind if There Will Be Blood loses to No Country for Old Men, but that's the only other movie I thought could compete with it. I'll definitely lose any faith in the Oscars though if Juno beats them

[Sorrow-K]

I haven't seen Juno yet, but people whose opinions I respect say that I should see it, so it's on my to-see list.

As far as Oscars are concerned, any three out of No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood or Atonement are worthy winners, IMO, and would probably be winners in most other years. It's been a pretty damn good year for film, IMO. Picking a best one for me was like splitting hairs.

I agree, Plainview loved his son...

Spoiler:

at least up until the estrangement scene. But by that point, he had become so bitter and twisted that he saw no value in the bond formed by his upbringing of him. I think it would have been a different matter if HW had been Plainview's real son. I really think Plainview so desperately wanted a family member nearby, someone who had Plainview's blood in him and would thus understand how he saw the world. That he never had this, was, in my opinion, one of the reasons why he moved to alienate others from himself in his older days. Well, that and the fact that he hated people anyway.

Incredible film. More people need to see both it and No Country For Old Men, IMO.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

Incredible film. More people need to see both it and No Country For Old Men, IMO.

I agree, but it seems that most of America would rather watch something like Wild Hogs or some other shitty film like Cloverfield. It saddens me...