There Will Be Blood (2007)

	Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE There Will Be Blood RUNNING TIME 158 minutes
	Produced by: Paul Thomas Anderson Daniel Lupi JoAnne Sellar
	Written by (based on the novel by Upton Sinclair): Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Daniel Plainview	Daniel Day-Lewis
Paul Sunday/Eli Sunday	Paul Dano	½
Henry Brands	Kevin J. O'Connor
Young H.W. Plainview	Dillon Freasier
Fletcher Hamilton	Ciarán Hinds
H. B. Ailman	Barry Del Sherman
Adult Mary Sunday	Colleen Foy
Prescott	Paul F. Tompkins
Abel Sunday	David Willis
Elizabeth	Hope Elizabeth Reeves

Review

Paul Thomas Anderson's dense, comprehensive film about Daniel Plainview's (Daniel Day-Lewis) rise from poor, hard-working prospector in the late 1800s to cynical, misanthropic oil magnate in the early 1900s is a daunting, impressive, and at times unapproachable epic. The technical aspects are extraordinary – from Anderson's acute writing (adapted from a 1927 novel by Upton Sinclair) to Robert Elswit's beautiful cinematography, Dylan Tichenor's on-point editing, and Jonny Greenwood's magnetic score. With these elements coupled with Anderson's knack for avoiding anachronisms, the film transports us vividly and uncompromisingly back to a time and place with completely different ethics and maxims. This is where There Will Be Blood is at its strongest, propelled by Daniel Day-Lewis' incredibly forceful, nuanced, and all-encompassing performance. There is a remarkable moment early on when Plainview and his son arrive at the Sunday farm to look for oil and strike a deal. In a matter of seconds, Anderson conveys the most essential difference between life in the 1890s and in our present day – and how Plainview represents the impetus of that change.

There are subtle observations scattered throughout There Will Be Blood. As Plainview grows increasingly unwieldy and cold, the human aspect of Anderson's story is moved to the background, while the damning, shuddering insight into the soul-stealing potential of the American dream comes to the forefront. When Plainview has reached all his goals, he transforms from relentless to cruel, and his hard-earned façade crumbles in a fit of loneliness, aromanticism, and disillusionment. Anderson's scrutiny of our capacity for extremity – which also encompasses Paul Dano's sinuously snake-like character – may reach a level of bleakness that could cause you to lose all faith in humanity, but you'd be hard-pressed not to be sucked into his iconoclastic frames.