There Will Be Blood

Plainview reclining after a strenuous day of practicing his Sean Connery impersonation.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007)

vantika's rating: B+

Daniel Day-Lewis. The amorous lothario in The Age of Innocence. The heroic freedom fighter in The Last of the Mohicans. The heart breaking artist ravaged by cerebal palsy in My Left Foot. And now. . .the Gordon Gekko of oil mongers in There Will Be Blood. Here we find a performance that can be characterized as half George Hearst a la Deadwood and half Sean Connery send-up.

How does that translate? Perfect. Daniel Plainview is a man who, in his later years, roams through his mansion clutching a shotgun and relishing the destruction of his own possessions via said weapon. This is nothing more than a fine cinematic flourish and carries no real relevance to the story itself other than to perhaps illustrate the deterioration of his sanity. Still, it's a testament to the abilities of director Anderson that he could have wound the plot around this device alone and we would sit - absolutely transfixed.