Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

Featuring a phenomenal performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood brings to life as charismatic and captivating a character as any to grace the screen this year. Comparable to the epic journeys of Charles Foster Kane and Fred C. Dobbs, the mesmerizing progression of Daniel Plainview from prospector to oil entrepreneur and "family man" makes a compelling character study rich with the flaws of greed, hubris, and competition. Traversing several decades of Plainview's struggles with family, the church, and the business he so loves, There Will Be Blood meticulously recreates a time, a place, and a man with feverishly brilliant detail.

In 1898, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a determined prospector who strikes silver in Texas and in subsequent searches discovers oil. By 1911 Plainview is a self-proclaimed "oil man" who operates several wells with his adopted son. When he's approached by Paul Sunday, who swears there is oil literally seeping out of the ground on his father's ranch, Daniel expands his business and begins buying up all of the property in the area. Such aggression doesn't go unnoticed however, and the ambitious businessman soon finds himself at odds with larger oil companies and the fanatical local church led by the guileful Eli Sunday (Paul Dano).

The music by composer Jonny Greenwood is sensational, and perfectly complements every scene. At times the violins screech like a frenetic horror film, amplifying the atrocities of Plainview versus himself or presiding over introductions to marked location shifts, and at others it is melodic and impassioned, contrasting the contemplation of despicable character choices. Music plays during most of the film, tying together speechless segments and narrating the tone of conversations. Beautifully orchestrated, it is ever-present and manifest, but never interrupts the visuals onscreen.