Review: There Will Be Blood

Sprawling story (spanning about 30 years) begins with entrepreneurial Daniel Plainview (chameleon-like Daniel Day-Lewis) attempting to strike first silver, and then oil (the ‘blood’ in the title). An accident on site finds Plainview ‘adopting’ young Dillon Freasier, the son of a colleague. He raises the kid as his own (more as a prop, though, or at best, an heir apparent), and soon has become known in the industry, looking to expand his empire. A tip from a peculiar young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) leads Plainview and son (and business partner Ciaran Hinds) to California, and the Sunday family ranch, and soon Plainview has acquired drilling rights, at a steal, from Old Man Sunday. Dano turns up again as Eli Sunday, a high-strung, evangelical preacher, who wants money from Plainview to build a church, something Plainview initially agrees to (yeah, right!). Meanwhile, Plainview’s pursuit of wealth and power starts to take on more importance than his parental responsibilities, even when an on-site accident deafens the boy.  Kevin J. O’Connor plays a man claiming to be Plainview’s long-lost half-brother, news Plainview greats with almost brutal suspicion.

Forceful, captivating 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson (“Magnolia”, “Punch-Drunk Love”, “Boogie Nights”) story of corruption, capitalistic greed, ruthlessness, and the loss of humanity in pursuit of the American Dream, isn’t “Citizen Kane”, but it sure does remind me of it. That, “Chinatown”, and perhaps “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. Day-Lewis (in perhaps the performance of his career) is simply incredible, adopting a terrific John Huston-inspired affectation (There’s the “Chinatown” connection), in portraying a fascinating, but utterly repugnant, possibly sociopathic, hateful (of everyone, including himself), ultimately pathetic, soulless human being. Well, almost soulless. He commits a few acts of kindness and decency (protecting a young girl from an abusive parent, for instance) but they always have some personal benefit to him, and whilst he seems conflicted between his quest for power and caring for his adopted son, ultimately, we know what’s going to win out.

It’s such a shame that Dano is appallingly miscast, clearly out of his depth, and way over-the-top playing a caricature of Old Testament, fire and brimstone nonsense. Part of the blame goes to the character as written- it would be a pretty impossible role for anyone to make credible, but Dano, at least at this stage in his career, had no business even trying to go toe-to-toe with a heavyweight like Day-Lewis. And I still have no idea why he had dual roles, either. He alone (and a hard to endure, silent, opening fifteen minutes) pulls this one down from what might’ve been greatness. Still, it’s really good stuff, and definitely memorable. Scripted by the director, loosely based on a 1927 Upton Sinclair novel called “Oil!”.

Rating: B-