Cinemablography@gmail.com
Cinemablography
  • Home
  • About
  • Journal
    • Pan's Labyrinth
    • A Simple Favor
    • Film Theory Issue 2 >
      • Christine
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Elle
      • Paterson
      • The One I Love
      • A Separation
      • Hateful Eight
    • Film Theory Issue 1 >
      • Three Colors Trilogy
      • Big Trouble in Little China
      • Melancholia
      • Somewhere
      • The Thin Red Line/Zero Dark Thirty
    • Science Fiction Issue 2 >
      • Signs
      • Paprika
      • Snowpiercer
      • I Am Legend
      • Edge of Tomorrow
      • Never Let Me Go
      • Donnie Darko
    • Manic Pixie Dream Girl
    • Edison & Co.
    • Blobfest
    • The Master
    • Amour
    • Argo
    • Looper
    • Science Fiction >
      • Children of Men
      • District 9
      • Minority Report
      • Moon
      • WALL-E
      • The Prestige
      • The Fear of Disappearing
    • Banksy
    • ThisisItaly
    • Catfish
    • Hugo
    • Pixar
    • Batman
    • Kathryn Bigelow >
      • Opening Scene
      • Supermarket Scene
      • Round Table Discussion
  • Blog
  • Contributors
  • Videographic Essays
  • Our Work
    • Links
  • Contact

There Will Be Blood: A Review

1/24/2020

0 Comments

 
by Anne Jane Preston
Picture
Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (2007) opens by fulfilling the title's promise of bloodshed and viscera, as we watch a miner get crushed and embedded into an oil pit by falling debris. What follows is a 14-minute sequence of shots establishing the world, with absolutely no dialogue. The world in question is portrayed as one that inflicts itself upon all those who inhabit it. It is a universe where only the strong survive, usually preying on those who are much weaker than they are. This is where the real story begins.

There Will Be Blood, which is based on Upton Sinclair's novel Oil, revolves around Daniel Plainview played by Daniel Day-Lewis. It follows his ceaseless pursuit of oil and riches, where he shows just how far he will go to get what he wants. Daniel Day-Lewis, who would go on to work on two more of Anderson's films, plays the role of an egotistic maniac to a T, as he gives one of the most riveting performances of his career. This is saying a lot, as an article on Reuters reveals that Day-Lewis has three Oscars under his belt.

This was clearly no easy task for Day-Lewis, as one could easily overextend when portraying the rage, fury, and desire of one wanna-be oil tycoon Daniel Plainview. But Day-Lewis, ever the master, is one that is all too familiar with restraint. His is a fury that is precise, targeted, and controlled. This depiction hits the sweet spot, or the thin line between acting and overacting. Indeed, this is a line that Day-Lewis tiptoes in various moments of this film, as he pushes the character to the brink of breaking just as much as the character has obviously pushed him.
Picture
Day-Lewis isn’t the only major first time collaboration in There Will Be Blood, as it also marks Jonny Greenwood's first time scoring for the critically acclaimed director. Jonny Greenwood is known for experimenting with electronic gadgets to achieve surreal sounds. He's famously used the subdued and subtle natural tube amp growl of the Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive to shape the sound of his band Radiohead back in the '90s. Another pedal that frequented his roster was the Digitech Whammy WH-1, which can be heard on Paranoid Android. The man was obsessed with electronic music, which is why it's equally strange and refreshing to hear him work exclusively with orchestra instruments and musicians.

Doubtlessly informed by Greenwood's extensive use of effects throughout his career, some argue that this film's soundtrack is the Radiohead guitarist's best work to date. This may be why Greenwood has established quite the working relationship with Anderson, as Greenwood would go on to score Anderson's next films, including The Master (2012), Inherent Vice (2014), and Phantom Thread (2017). In There Will Be Blood, the eeriness of the film's score adds another dimension, as it serves as a stark contrast to the sunny and bright landscape of Southern California. This, paired with brilliant acting by Day-Lewis, is another indication that things are about to go terribly wrong.

Picture
Overall, the film acts as a modern-day tale on the animalistic nature of the desires of man. It is a representation of how far one can go on the whims of his own selfishness – a reminder of why we should never venture that far, as it will surely come at the cost of one's humanity. And while some may say that Anderson's film is a ham-fisted portrayal, a caricature of what man can become, it is these same exaggerations that give the material distance. This gives the audience a chance to examine it more closely, allowing them to reflect on how they perceive their desires and the lengths that they would go to turn these desires into a reality.


Works cited:

Feigel, Lara. “Review: Oil! by Upton Sinclair.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Feb. 2008, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/feb/24/features.review.

Serjeant, Jill. “Triple Oscar Winner Daniel Day-Lewis Retiring from Acting.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 20 June 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-daniel-day-lewis/triple-oscar-winner-daniel-day-lewis-retiring-from-acting-idUSKBN19B2ZX.


​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    42
    American Hustle
    Ang Lee
    Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
    Audition
    Blackmagic
    Brad Pitt
    Camera Profile
    Child Actors
    Christian Bale
    Cinemablography
    Coming Attractions
    Comments
    Consumers
    Culture
    David-o-russell
    Design
    Director
    Drive
    Entertainment
    E.T.
    Film
    Film Art
    Film Blog
    Film Blog
    Film Review
    Fourth Wall
    Genre
    Girls
    Henry Thomas
    Italy
    Italy Video
    Jackie Robinson
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    Kathryn Bigelow
    Lena Dunham
    Life Of Pi
    Lost Films
    Marc Webb
    Michel Gondry
    Mood Indigo
    Music Videos
    Nick Cave
    Nick Cave The Bad Seeds84d349b97c
    Nicolas Winding Refn
    Omar Sy
    Political
    Prometheus
    Pusher
    Ryan Gosling
    Sab
    Sci Fi
    Scifia50955b463
    Scific61d272476
    Score
    Short Films
    Soundtrack
    Students Abroad
    Theatrical Posters
    The Hunger Games
    The Place Beyond The Pines
    Tiny Furniture
    Trailer
    Valhalla Rising
    Video Of The Day
    Warren Ellis
    Women In Film
    Young Filmmakers
    Zooey Deschanel

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.