There Will Be Blood

By Mal -

7 out of 10

The first hour or so of this oil-prospecting drama was truly excellent. It had me feeling involved from the get-go and felt like a thoroughly rounded film. As for what followed... well, it was a fitful experience. Perhaps that was the intent, reflecting the break-down of the lead character and a questioning of the sense of direction both in the story and in the lead's life.

Thing is, this break-down seemed to go on forever. Surely when you do this kind of thing with a film, each turn of events has to represent something new? Here, however, each subplot (not the right word at all) was simply another example of how things were turning to shit, despite increasing commercial success. It wasn't filling in another piece of the jigsaw — it was placing the same piece over and over again. I lost any ability to sense, or even care that much about, where the film was going.

Despite this disjointed feel to the plot, there's still plenty to recommend the film. The acting throughout was first rate. I can see why Daniel Day-Lewis won his Oscar and BAFTA. All supporting actors played their roles near-perfectly too. On top of that, the cinematography was wonderful, reminding me a little of films like Once Upon A Time In The West.

Overall, while I didn't find it to be a work of genius, it's still well worth seeing. And I suspect that now I know where the second half of the film is going, it might even be better on a second viewing. But I'll wait for the DVD for that. :)

Comments

Rachel Paterson said…
I agree with Mal...

I enjoyed the first hour or so, very well shot and to paraphrase the lovely Mark Kermode "an assault on the senses".

As the film went on though, I slowly began to lose the will to live, whilst I appreciate the cinematography, imagery etc. the constant repetition became somewhat tiresome. I was waiting for a twist but it never seemed to come!

Daniel Day Lewis obviously gave his all to his character but I found his performance almost comical at times.

Overall however, I agree it is probably worth seeing but would question its' actual entertainment value!
10:00 pm
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