There Will Be Blood - 5

Apparently I didn't get the memo that I am not suppose to dislike this film, even just a little. I love P.T. Anderson, I can understand the comparisons to Robert Altman, especially his McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Terrence Malick (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and The New World), but this film ended up building to well...not anything like a complex or interesting story. The film is a character study of obsessive oil man Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). Most of the film is set after he moves north with his adopted son, and founds a new oil community there. The film also plays on the tensions between Daniel and the young pastor Eli (Paul Dano), who has his own psychological issues as a twin and religious fanatic. Similar to the book on which it is partly based, Upton Sinclair's Oil!, the story works as a critique of capitalism and the American Dream-it leaves one empty and alone. The problem is that this is not new to the audience, and the addition of the role of faith in this criticism is interesting but seems exaggerated. The cinematography is very good, and the score, written by Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) adds some eeriness and emotion to the film.