THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Palm Springs International Film Festival Release USA 2008)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.5|5.0 Starsììì

There Will Be Blood is not your typical western depiction of late 1800 and early 1900 events. The storyline revolves around Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), an oilman, bent on making wealth and fortune through persistent effort that never takes ‘no’ for an answer. This Upton Sinclair story is offbeat with a highly unusual depiction of a lone man’s tenacity, desire, and single-minded purpose. There Will Be Blood starts wonderfully well, but moves through awkward scenes after Plainview begins interacting with other people. The cinematography is impressive with great attention to detail. This is a great movie for anyone who wants to see an out of the ordinary western that is set in early twentieth century history.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) works incessantly to establish wealth and position.

Additional Thanks

Good work for Director and Screenplay Writer Paul Thomas Anderson. Thank you to Executive Producers Scott Rudin, Eric Schlosser, and David Williams for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Silver Assay Worker (Martin Stringer), Silver Assay Worker (Matthew Braden Stringer), Silver Assay Worker (Jacob Stringer), Silver Assay Worker (Joseph Mussey), H.B. Ailman (Barry Del Sherman), Baby HW (Harrison Taylor), Baby HW (Stockton Taylor), and Prescott (Paul F. Tompkins).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. The film is ruthlessly and unapologetically true to its title.

Video Critique Available Here: 

Ben Meyers