I know this is a little tardy but oh well.
We finish up our look at the Best Picture nominees with Paul Thomas Anderson's, There Will Be Blood ( R). The film is the profile of a turn-of-the-century oil prospector (Daniel Day-Lewis) in his subsequent descent into the bottomless hole of greed and power. The movie co-stars Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds and Kevin J. O'Connor.
Andy: There Will Be Blood is a character study of an evil, greedy man. The story it tells is not particularly remarkable or insightful. We do not necessarily learn anything about the film's protagonists or his motivations. However the film is so skillfully put together and so meticulously acted, that it is the best movie of the year, even if it is not the most enjoyable to watch.
Ryan: I'll say that There Will Be Blood is certainly one of the best movies of the year and that its Best Picture nomination is much deserved. There's no question that There Will Be Blood is a fascinating film that showcases one of the best performances that we have seen in years. It’s a powerful film that resonates long after viewing it. But I'll be remissed if I didn't mention that the movie unfortunately continues the trend of Best Picture nominees with disconcerting climaxes/endings.
Andy: The performances of the actors stand out the most in this movie. Daniel Day-Lewis will likely win the Oscar for his masterful portrayal of oil-man Daniel Plainfield. Lewis is really terrifying and terrifyingly real as the movie's cut-throat anti-hero. Usually when a character is this one-dimensionally evil it comes across as flat on the screen. What makes Day-Lewis's performance so riveting is that he is so believable as a character that should be totally unreal.
Ryan: Not to overlook the other nominees for Best Actor but I would be completely shocked if Daniel Day Lewis doesn’t win the statue. He simply gives about as good as a performance as somebody can humanly give. He’s that good. My only problem with Lewis is that he doesn’t make movies as often as I would like him to because when he’s on screen, he is simply mesmerizing. He doesn’t often get lumped into the discussion for best actor of his generation—probably because he doesn’t make movies on a regular basis—but there’s nobody better.
Andy: There Will Be Blood is the crowning achievement so far in P.T. Anderson's very impressive career. Even though the story is not very straight-forward, it is the most straight forward of Anderson's films. Visually, it is nearly perfect, and as usual, Anderson uses the soundtrack (mostly produced by Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood) to overwhelm the audience. Anderson's movies always seem like art, and this one may be the most artistically pure of the last few years.
Ryan: I’m almost at a loss for words in trying to explain why three out of the five nominees for Best Picture have endings that are problematic (to all varying degrees). While I believe that the conclusion to There Will Be Blood is less perplexing than that of No Country For Old Men and Atonement, there’s no doubt that the way the movie concludes takes away from the rest of the film. My biggest issue with how the movie reconciles is that it feels completely random. It’s almost like the filmmakers decided, “hey we’re at the 130 minute mark. It’s time to tack on the climax and ending.” Needless to say that approach didn't work well for me and I don't think it will completely work for many moviegoers either.
While we disagree slightly on exactly how good There Will Be Blood is, we can both agree that it's a cinematic work of art. Final grade: A-.
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