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Paul Thomas Anderson has been nothing if not industrious.
Even though it has been five years since his last film,
he spends an obsessive amount of time and detail researching
and "discovering" the films he writes and directs. In many
respects, Anderson shares something with Daniel Plainview
(Daniel Day-Lewis in an Oscar winning performance) from
Anderson's latest film "There Will Be Blood"--an almost
obsessive quality to be the best at what he does. That's
all to the good for Anderson who is probably the most talented
director of his generation able to tap into a variety of
characters and produce a perfect portrait of what makes
them tick. ***
Loosely adapting Sinclair Lewis' novel OIL! , Anderson
creates a rich, dark portrait of a Plainview--a man driven
to be the best at the expense of destroying what is most
dear to him and someone who, like his surname states, has
a very plain view of the world--it's all black and white,
about money and power. Plainview admits that he doesn't
like most people and, in fact, much of the time just plain
hates them which is ironic given his silver tongue and salesmanship.
When we first meet Plainview in the dialogue free first
fifteen minutes of the film Plainview discovers oil while
painstakingly digging for silver and, in the process, discovers
his true calling as an oil man. ***
12 years pass when we next meet Daniel as he sweet
talks a group of settlers trying to impress him with his
credentials. As they bicker among themselves he decides
he wants nothing to do with them because he wants a straight
forward answer to his straight forward proposition. Daniel's
relationship with most of those around him is more of an
employer than a friend or partner except his son H.W. (Dillon
Freasier) who can drill past the hardened exterior of his
father in a way no other person can yet even H.W. can't
completely melt the heart of his father. He's the type of
private man that you could spend a lifetime getting to know
and realize that you never truly knew him. ***
Later, Daniel discovers an oil bonanza at the Sunday
Ranch and sweet talks the Sundays into selling him much
of their land so he can drill and transport the oil there.
What Daniel doesn't realize, however, is that he has met
his match in the equally bull headed Eli Sunday who believes
he is a healer and a self styled preacher. They make a deal
but Daniel who is seemingly quite affable and at times manages
to alienate Eli who gathers a flock of believers around
him for his Church of the Third Revelation. Both men are,
in their own way, quite selfish and self centered to the
core. They want what they want whether it be success or
salvation or both if one will lead to the other. Ultimately,
these two businessmen one in the business of oil while the
other is in the business of religion discovering as much
as they are different they are really the same in their
own way. ---
Image & Sound:
"There Will Be Blood" features a nearly flawless DVD
transfer with sharp image quality, accurate flesh tones.
The Oscar winning cinematography by Robert Elswit is rendered
quite nicely with the dust bowl color scheme accurately
reproduced. The night sequences are a bit more problematic
lacking as much detail as I would have liked to see lacking
the clear, crisp cinematography that is a highlight during
the day scenes of the film. Aside from that flaw, the film
looks quite good. ***
The soundtrack, on the other hand, receives a nearly
perfect transfers that highlights the dark, moody score
by Johnny Greenwood (of the band Radiohead) that reminds
me a bit of Bernard Herrmann at his most inventive. Dialogue
is up front in the mix with nice discrete use of the surround
channels as appropriate.
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