There Will Be Blood

After watching this movie, I cannot help but wonder who is more obsessive in his pursuits; Daniel Plainview, a man out to eliminate any and all competition in his path for the oil under the ground, or Daniel-Day Lewis who portrays him. Or maybe the truly obsessive one if Paul Thomas Anderson who wrote and directed this movie and gets everything down to the last detail to where you can't help but feel that this is all true. Or maybe it is Johnny Greenwood who composed the movie's fiercely original score. One thing's for sure; there is a lot of obsession in this movie in all shapes and forms.

"There Will Be Blood" is the latest from Paul Thomas Anderson who has yet to direct a truly bad motion picture. He was born of a brilliant filmmaker, and he knows it. While the movie drags a little here and there during its 2 ½ hour running time, it is nothing short of a masterpiece that sucks you in and refuses to let you go. Somewhat inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil," the movie follows Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he digs through the earth and discovers fortune through the discovery of oil under the ground.

Daniel's quest for oil leads him to a small town that is introduced to him by Paul Sunday (Paul Dano from "Little Miss Sunshine"), and he ends up buying the land from his family once he discovers that there is an enormous amount of oil underneath the barren acres laid waste to by time and neglect. Daniel offers to develop the community with many resources it needs, and to provide employment to those who need money. But deep down, Plainview doesn't have much love for any of these people, or anyone else in general. He is a fierce competitor who is only happy when others fail, and he willfully swindles the Sunday family out of their land to get at the oil and lays claim to it.