Starring Daniel Day-Lewis (giving an almighty performance) and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. There Will be Blood.

Release Date: Dec 26, 2007 (yes, it really is nearly nine years old already!)

Rating: R

There Will Be Blood follows a man who moves to Little Boston with his son to try his luck in the oil trade. Most people I’ve met who have seen this film love it, but I have to say: hardly anyone I know has seen it!

There Will Be Blood is ferocious, and it will be championed and attacked with an equal ferocity. When the dust settles, we may look back on it as some kind of obsessed classic. – David Ansen, Newsweek

Boldly and magnificently strange, There Will Be Blood marks a significant departure in the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. – Todd McCarthy, Variety

I remember seeing this in the cinema a week or so after seeing the equally incredible No Country for Old Men and thinking: something magical has happened in the film industry. From now on, all films will be this amazing. Unfortunately I was wrong, but it was an exciting, fleeting moment.

SYNOPSIS: The film follows the rise to power of Daniel Plainview – a charismatic and ruthless oil prospector, driven to succeed by his intense hatred of others and desperate need to see any and all competitors fail. When he learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property. Using his young adopted son H.W. to project the image of a caring family man, Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish. Over time, Plainview’s gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life. – IMDB

I’ve only seen it once since the cinema and that was a while ago, but the DVD is on its way for a new viewing. At 158 minutes, There Will Be Blood is a looong film and it’s not fast-moving, so if you have a low attention-span, this is not the film for you! Many critics have stated that the length of this film is indulgent, but it should be. It’s a piece of poetry. Daniel Plainview (the main character) is one that you want to watch for hours, no matter how much you may come to dislike him. What he wants is oil. Craftily working his way up from dusty prospector to roving oilman, Plainview, with his bristling moustache and courtly manner, drives the hardest of bargains. “I’ve built up my hatreds over the years little by little,” Plainview confides in a rare moment of enlightenment. With Day-Lewis’s powerhouse performance dominating, there’s very little room for anyone else to thrive. – Sky

I hate most people. – Daniel Plainview

As well as Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano delivers an excellent performance in this film. He was not as ruthless as Daniel Plainview, and he seemed a bit more in touch with his human side. – Mr Rumsey’s Film Related Musings