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There Will Be Blood is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
(Punch Drunk Love), and stars Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of
New York), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine), and Dillon
Freasier. Jonny Greenwood provides the musical score. ***
There Will Be Blood spans a 30-year time period in
the life of an oil tycoon, and his efforts to expand his
enterprise, as well as his profits. It doesn't take long
before he becomes a rich man, but it's only a matter of
time before his greed and personal issues take hold of his
soul. His sanity begins to drift away, gradually driving
him closer and closer to madness - with everyone around
him suffering as a result. ***
There Will Be Blood is a slow-paced mess of a movie
that drags on far longer than it needs to. The acting is
laughably corny and at times over-the-top, the musical score
feels out of place, the experience never feels authentic,
and did I mention the whole thing drags on for over two
and a half hours? For the life of me, I can't figure out
why this film has gotten the overwhelmingly positive critical
reception it has been receiving. ***
Length and pacing are arguably the biggest problems
with the film. Less happens in two and a half hours than
happens in your average half-hour television program. And
when something interesting does manage to happen, it never
quite lives up to expectation and leaves you wanting more.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson has dragged 45 minutes worth
of story out to nearly three times that length - and it
shows from start to finish. ***
The performances are equally flawed. Everyone in the
film goes completely over-the-top with everything they do
- so much so that there's no sense of authenticity or realism
in the film. Daniel Day-Lewis himself epitomizes this like
no one else the movie features. These could have been fantastic
performances by these actors, but everyone just tries too
hard, and the entire film reeks of this. It's also worth
noting that, despite the overacting, Day-Lewis did win a
Best Actor Oscar. Whether or not it was deserved I'll leave
up to you. ***
The cinematography is another aspect of the movie that
won enormous praise, as well as an Oscar, but it's hard
to agree with this praise. Anderson was clearly going for
a “dirtied up” look for the movie, but this is just too
much. As a result the entire movie feels soft and blurry,
and it's hard to see the details in certain parts of images.
I admire the cinematography crew for what they were trying
to do here, but like the acting itself, it's almost like
they tried too hard. ***
The portrayal of religion of the film is also an issue.
While it didn't bother this reviewer by any means, those
who follow religion closely may be offended by the often
less-than-favorable way that faith is viewed throughout
the course of the film. ***
I know this movie has won almost unanimous critical
acclaim, and wound up on a ton of the year's “best of “
lists. And for the life of me, I can't see why. It's a slow-paced
mess, bogged down by countless issues. I can't give it a
recommendation.
Image And Sound:
This is a difficult category to review for this particular
movie. The “dirtied up” look of the movie featured on a
DVD certainly represents well what the cinematographers
were trying to pull off, but these very issues are what
make the DVD's image quality questionable. Because of this,
there's a lot of grain - dark scenes look particularly atrocious.
I can't really say if the picture is “good” or “bad.” So
I'll just say it represents what the filmmakers intended.
Sound I had no issues with, everything is loud and clear,
dialogue and sound effects alike.
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