There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood
Originally uploaded by bobbychristian

This is not the greatest movie of all time, but it is really really good. There are a lot of reasons go see this film, but leaving, despite all else, I knew I had seen something fresh and new. It's odd to say a movie can be fresh and new because, like all other films, it's a period, almost three hours, of people talking, living, etc in a frame, but thinking over the film it stuck out as having a different, unique approach to all these standards; there were long periods of silence, without seeming to be silent, a fantastic score, risky committed acting, very little blood, and fantastic cinematography.
HITS
Daniel Day-Lewis There's a reason this man can retire to become a cobbler in Italy for five years and still be an A-list actor. He breathed unique delivery into each scene he was in as well as seeming incorporating everything happening in the world of the film at that time. He took chances and made bold choices, he stood out.
Score There was a notable underscore because the backing music was a character all by itself. It, like the rest of the film, took chances. It was jarring and experimental, but fit and involving.
Silence I didn't know if this would classify as directing or script, but since both belong to P.T. Anderson, and this is his film, I'm giving the silence it's own category. This film took time. It wasn't rushed it arrived when it was needed. I think this speaks to its somewhat limited release, it expects to be wanted; it doesn't try and rush an audience in and out with a good aftertaste.
Misses
Paul Dano It isn't completely fair to blame Dano for his problems, he was brought in because the previous actor couldn't work opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and he was opposite Daniel Day-Lewis. BUT, he didn't have the depth that was needed in certain scenes. Several times the counterpoint between Daniel Plainview, Day-Lewis, and Eli Sunday, Dano, seemed more like a ox battling a fly, almost comic. This was a great script, but a very challenging script and I think the scenes that worked the least are both the actor and the directors fault.
Abundance of Short Scene The longer scene gave time to let the colors the actors and director were working with spread out and evolve. The short scene sometimes seemed locked in, mechanical. There were still interesting, but they stood in such a contrast to the scene where the actors could stretch out they seemed harder, more alloted that organic.

Thinking back over possible misses, I keep coming to the end of the film and every time and blown away by the take Daniel Day-Lewis took on the final line. In a place where it could have all fallen apart, it was bolted together by relying on the innovation that flowed through the whole movie.
I liked this movie, I've only seen it once, but I will probably enjoy it more and more as I re-watch it.
One piece of advice, don't read the script before you go see it.