"There Will Be Blood” Movie Review
Why Daniel Day-Lewis Deserves the Oscar
"There Will Be Blood" serves up a chilling and realistic performance by Daniel Day-Lewis.
In an age where pretty-boy actors make millions, Daniel Day-Lewis continues to astound audiences with his powerful and shockingly realistic movie roles. In “There Will Be Blood,” Day-Lewis’ portrayal of a harsh and unyielding oilman puts those actors relying on their looks to shame. Although his handsome qualities are covered up with grime in this film, he deserves to win the Best Actor Oscar simply because of his piercing leers and gruff voice that create his assaulting character.
The film takes place at the dawn of the twentieth century when ambitious prospectors out west drilled for oil. Based on Upton Sinclair’s novel “Oil,” the film displays the ingenuity of the men determined to strike it rich. Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a greedy and driven man who makes his living preying on others willing to give up their land for oil drilling. His persuasive talents are put to use when he settles in the town of Little Boston and convinces its residents that oil will bring them a better life.
Eli Sunday: Paul Dano's Tour-de-Force Peformance
Although Plainview is enough of a villain in the film, his counterpart is found in small town preacher, Eli Sunday. Sunday fights for his congregation, hoping that the oil will bring more profits to the church. In the name of his faith, he often resorts to the same villainous behaviors Plainview does.
Sunday is played by the talented Paul Dano—previously seen in “Little Miss Sunshine” and alongside Day-Lewis again in “The Ballad of Jack and Rose.” Dano had originally been slated to appear in the movie in a smaller role, but he so won over Oscar-nominated writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson that the part of the over-zealous preacher became his.
"There Will Be Blood": The Nominations
The film has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor for Day-Lewis, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay among several others. It surely merits these accolades because of the cohesiveness of the acting and writing displayed throughout the film. The music also helps to pull the film together. The audience is alerted to tension with violent swells in the score. Although the script is straightforward, the cast makes up for the lack of dialogue in some scenes by communicating clearly with their expressive eyes. Day-Lewis takes command of the screen with his dominating performance.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the film, besides the tour de force acting of Day-Lewis, is the cinematography. The majority of “There Will Be Blood” takes place in open fields and sweeping scenes of land that has not yet been developed. These achievements in the film have also been nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.
Even if the film is snubbed come Oscar night, the chillingly real performance of Day-Lewis, accompanied by Dano’s no-holds barred character, will live on.
