Throwback - There Will Be Blood
In this new series of write-ups, I’ll be slowly making my way through highly acclaimed or popular films that I’ve embarrassingly never watched before. Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood has been perched at the top of my Letterboxd ‘High Priority Watchlist’, waiting patiently, and I’m pleased to say that it will be kicking things off in this debut article.
Make sure to vote in the poll at the bottom of the page to select the next film I will watch! (There are some great options, so choose wisely).
Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plaiview in There Will Be Blood
There Will Be Blood depicts the rise of highly competitive oilman Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) who travels across the states in search of fruitful land. Joining him and presenting a family-friendly face for these land propositions, is his young son H.W. (Dillon Freasier). After stumbling across a scintillating new prospect, Plainview becomes embroiled in a quarrel with a preacher and prophet by the name of Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), whose family sold him this money-making land.
This is one of the most impressive acting showcases of the 2000s: Day-Lewis shines beyond belief as he threatens and belittles most in his path. Each word is carried with a general sense of politeness but underlying determinism. It is, however, perplexing to me how Dano somehow managed to avoid an Oscar nomination for his work in this picture. The 80th Academy Awards were packed to the brim with talent that year (Bardem for No Country for Old Men overshadowed the entire category with a performance for the ages), but I *still* think that Dano could’ve been nudged in – they managed to at the BAFTAs.
It goes without saying that the soundtrack shot up to the top of my all-time favourites. Strangely eerie and chaotic all the same, Johnny Greenwood (of Radiohead fame, but also film prestige as a long-time collaborator with PTA) composed a menacing yet beautiful score. ‘Proven Lands’ stands out to me as the highlight, although I do think that ‘House of Woodcock’ (for Phantom Thread) is still his best work as a composer. It makes a ton of sense, then, that Greenwood would go on to create the score for Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. I drew a lot of thematic parallels between this film and that. There’s a lot to say between both about the strength of cruelty, love, and ambition in the arid lands of pre-Depression America, nosediving towards The Great Depression.
The rattling noise of Greenwood’s ‘Convergence’ provides a nice backing for the fire explosion scene, where a thunderous gas blowout causes an oil well to erupt in flames. Plainview sits back and watches in glee, neglecting his now hearing-impaired son, thinking only of money. It’s an exciting scene, plain and simple, and it carries this deep underlying sense of cruelty underneath thanks to Thomas-Anderson’s assured direction.
Whilst I found the beginning of the third act to slog slightly in terms of pacing, There Will Be Blood is a tremendously composed effort of filmmaking from one of the greats. This grubby, long winded flick is infused with human malice and greed, and it makes for fascinating viewing. I’m pleased to finally tick this one of my list.
