Say what you want about any of the nominated films but there are only two films that have any place being discussed as the best of the year: No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Anyone that has had half a conversation with me in the past two months knows which side of that argument I stand. Just so we’re clear I will spell it out for you in grand detail:
There Will Be Blood is the best movie of this decade. Period.
“I assure you, whatever the other promise to do, when it comes to the showdown, they won’t be there…”
It is not a surprise why these two movies are being compared. Both of the movies were released by the same company. Both based on novels. Both have brilliantly abrupt endings that will be debated for years. And both are the best films their respective directors have made. For as good a movie and as well made as it is, this film is Daniel Day Lewis. Without his performance, I doubt the movie secures its spot in the pantheon of American cinema.
And that’s exactly what this movie is – American – like pickup trucks and baseball games. The story deals with themes and ideas that are not only relevant in today’s world, they still exist; both the good and the bad. This is the way civilized America was made. This is the way towns and churches were built. Cutthroat. It was literally do or die. At face value it’s as simple as good versus evil. What is interesting is the way the perceptions between the two shift and morph as the movie progresses. Below the surface is where empires were created.
“Just give me the blood Lord and get me away from this.”
At the core of the film is Daniel Plainview and he is a fighter. He fights the system that created him and anyone who gets in his way. He will stop at nothing to get what it is that he’s after. At first we think it’s simply oil or money but we realize it’s more than that. He will never be fully satisfied. His animal is fed through the chase. He wants to be the best and end up on top, but his idea of the best doesn’t exist in the known world. So he will always continue to do more. This is true in his work, his business relationships, and his widely skewed vision of a family.
“It’s the truth, you’re not my son. And you never have been. You’re an orphan… and you’ve operated like one here today.”
Among all of the struggles at play, the central conflict in the movie is between Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). It is obvious Eli is not a true believer. He is an opportunist, same as Plainview. So you have to ask yourself, which man is worse? Plainview for being the way he is and has proven to always be, or Eli for trying to sell himself as the profit and the only true way. Does Eli’s hypocrisy make him a bigger monster than Daniel? Does his contrast to Eli make Daniel’s qualities more admirable? Both men are miserable but at least Plainview makes no bones about that fact. He has chosen not to have a family or friends. He has not allowed himself to trust enough to let people get close to him. His love is his work. The blind ambition that both men posses cause each of them to be destroyed. By implosion or explosion is left to be debated.
“I did what your brother couldn’t. I broke you and I beat you.”
This is my kind of movie in that the answers aren’t laid out there for you to pick through like the quarter box at a garage sale. You have to do some thinking and draw your own conclusions. You look hard enough you are going to see the gem in the middle. You dig deep enough and you will see this film for what it is – a masterpiece in a class all its own. It may take some doing, but once you finally get there, you will embody the same feeling Daniel Plainview has at the pinnacle of his madness at the end of the film:
Righteousness.
And there’s the rub.
**** out of ****
Awesome review. It just gorwas on you as each day goes on. I love this review.
It's perfect!!
It is the film of the decade!!