Top 15 of the 2000s: #8

A quick note about today's entry: I made a mistake in the last post, and labeled it as #10, when it is in fact #9, thereby making today's film #8. All clear? Right then, here we go...






#8. "There Will Be Blood" (2007) by Paul Thomas Anderson: Yes, yet another film from 2007 has made it onto this list, and is unique particularly in regards to its director. Why? Because he is what Rottentomatoes.com refers to as a "VCR filmmaker": someone who learned about movies simply by watching lots of them, as opposed to going through intensive film school programs. But even there, the film differs from Anderson's other films. It is the furthest back in time that Anderson has even ventured with a story, and also lacks the presence of two key themes in his films: divine fate and the serendipitous nature of love. What we are given instead is a ferocious, sprawling battle between faith and capitalism at their worst. In adapting Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil", Anderson created one of the most striking films of this or any decade. Let's start with the most obvious success: Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview. Much like co-winner Marion Cotillard, Day-Lewis' Oscar winning turn immediately brings to mind words like "triumphant" and "staggering", and indeed he is. Even the voice, which could have easily become cartoonish in less capable hands, adds to this tremendous work. Plainview is driven by no code except his desire for success and wealth, even if it means pretending to accept Christ to do it; the character is larger than life without feeling like it was created by broad strokes alone. It's still fascinating to watch the way Plainview reacts to his "son" H.W.; is he using him purely for profit, or does he actually have *gasp* feelings for the boy? It's just more evidence towards the argument that Day-Lewis is one of the greatest currently-working actors around. But he isn't alone on screen. The only significant character is Eli Sunday played by Paul Dano, who gives a performance that wasn't quite as well received as the former. Honestly, I keep flip flopping on the performance. I don't think that it's bad, but there are times when Dano seems to hit more false notes than true ones, and vice a versa. He certainly does have his brilliant moments - the scenes when he's in "preacher mode" are fantastic - so for now I'll give him a pass. Besides, his chemistry with Day-Lewis is just too good to discredit. Luckily, we have more than just performances. Despite clocking in at nearly 3 hours, there's a steady sense of intrigue which is superbly set up at the beginning. With little to no dialogue in its opening, only a few noises along Johnny Greenwood's brilliant score (which was disqualified from the Oscars for petty reasons), it's a brilliant way to start a film, even if one's gut reaction is to point at the screen and yell, "2001: A Space Odyssey!!!" It's the momentum established at this opening that helps make the first half of the film the strongest. It starts in silence, then moves on to Plainview's first encounters with the Sunday family and the town where they live, to the construction of the oil rig, to the film's stunning central "action" sequence: the oil derrick fire. The derrick hits a gusher, only to catch fire. Yet even as the pillar of flame cuts across the darkening sky like the stroke of a paintbrush, Plainview sits and starts to smile, even as he sits covered in oil and HW lies injured. But of course those visuals don't just appear by themselves. Much credit goes to Roger Elswit, whose work beat Deakins' stellar work in "Jesse James". While I still think Deakins did a superior job, it's hard to ignore the impact of Elswit's camera work and lighting. In one fantastic scene of symbolism, we cut to a shot with the camera placed on railroad tracks, looking on, waiting for a train. But a train does not come. Instead, riding on the road beside the tracks comes Plainview in a car, charging into the new town like modernization incarnate. It's just of several brilliant artistic/technical moments that the film has to offer. But while the first half of the film is close to perfect, it does make a few missteps in its second half. A subplot involving Plainview's "brother", while somewhat important, seems to drag, while also giving us the most confusing usage of the phrase "brother from another mother". It's hard to tell if Anderson wants a wicked laugh, or if the line is funny unintentionally (though knowing Anderson, I'd suspect the former). And then there's the ending. Oh lord, the ending. As if the film wasn't filled with enough madness in the clashes between Plainview and Sunday before, it's the final 20 minutes that mark the unapologetic descent into total chaos. At first it's a little off-putting, but on rewatches the finale has, for me, come to showcase pitch black humor at its most grandiose. And the film's final line, uttered by a heaving Plainview? Just the cherry on top of a warped sundae.

Final Grade: A

Best Performance: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Scene: