There Will Be Blood: Review By Josh

The very thing that makes There Will Be Blood so inaccessible is also the thing that makes it work so well, that being its unflinching portrayal of unbridled capitalism. Writer-director PT Anderson (Magnolia) layers his film so thick with the fraudulent greed of his two leads that they cease to be relatable. However, were they written differently I'm not sure the movie would be special. And that's the thing. It is hard to call this movie great, or powerful, or anything really, because it so boldly and deftly shatters those kind of labels. It simply seeks to exist and does so as a driving force. It is visceral in its presentation, and unforgettable in its aftermath. Johnny Greenwood's score closely resembles the cold, driving terror Michael Giaccino's score often does on LOST, drawing attention to itself, but not in a negative way. Daniel Day Lewis gives an epic, distinguished performance for which he will rightfully win an Oscar, and young Paul Dano plays so well opposite him. The two men trade blows, psychologically, verbally, and physically, as two equally vacuous portraits of monstrosity, one using his son and the other God as a prop to gain power and money. The film eliminates before its end any characters who resemble something we might sympathize with, and instead opts to let the world fall down around the two unrelatable leads. For this reason, the film leaves you feeling cold, yet it works while it is unconcerned with plot and aware of itself as a chilling character study unlike anything I've seen before. An unreviewable film? Perhaps, but also an unforgettable one.