|
|
I'm a HUGE fan of Daniel Day-Lewis. I recently said I would pay to watch him do sock puppet theatre. He's a genius. And he shows you why in There Will be Blood. This bio-pic is inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel, Oil!, which is loosely based on the life of Edward Doheny, an oilman in the early 20th century involved in the Teapot Dome scandal.
Like 3:10 to Yuma, this is a character piece, rather than any kind of action adventure. This is a long movie, and in retrospect, there are no wasted words, gestures, expressions, etc. Everything about this film is deliberate. There is no ultimate triumph, no redemption. It is simply a study of a man's life--there's humor, wit, things done well and huge mistakes. Daniel Plainview is a driven, flawed man who matches wits with a small-town preacher, Eli, his nemesis.
While there were many slow moments in the movie, missing any of these moments can put you behind the 8-ball with the plot later. It's a movie you'll think about for days after, and it's worth the price of admission for two things. Day-Lewis's performance, and the explanation of "milkshake" at the finale. To that end, enjoy this spoof, provided by my date for the movie:
Posted in Entertainment at 5:47 PM