The Greatest Trick

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, the Oscar nominated There will be blood, is his best yet. Based on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, it is not only an extraordinary study of greed, power and revenge but can also be read as political allegory and/or cautionary spiritual parable. It is a rare film that truly stretches the boundaries of cinema and will no doubt benefit from multiple viewings.

In fact, after watching this, I am really not sure what deserves the Best Picture Oscar more; this or No Country for Old Men. There hasn’t been such an agonising choice for Best Picture winner since Chinatown was nominated against The Godfather Part II in 1974. I was initially disappointed that criminally underrated western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was not nominated for Best Picture, but in some ways I’m now glad, since having that in the mix would make the decision of Academy voters even more excruciating. To have three such outstanding films would be an embarrassment of riches.

At any rate, one Oscar this will certainly win is the Best Actor award. Daniel Day Lewis’ portrayal of oil prospector Daniel Plainview is an absolute triumph, even by his impossibly high standards. He acts his socks off, making Plainview a truly unforgettable character; at once monstrously greedy with a lust for success at the expense of all others, yet strangely charming in spite of the darkness lurking in his soul. He practically eats up the screen, chewing the scenery to within an inch of its life. His brooding, restless presence and ability to place all things, even family, as secondary to his lust for wealth keeps the audience constantly on the edge of its seat and unable to tear its eyes from the screen.

In an extraordinary, virtually wordless opening prologue, Plainview is first seen down a mine shaft digging for silver nuggets. Whilst attempting to extract his find, a beam comes loose from the makeshift ladder, and he falls, breaking his leg. He then painstakingly crawls out of the shaft and drags himself along the desert ground to the real estate dealer in order to make his money. Next, he is seen attempting to drill for oil, this time with a few employees. The dark, dirty and dangerous process of prospecting at the turn of the 20th century is shown in all its grim detail, and an accident leaves Plainview in possession of a baby, whom he adopts as his own for reasons that are revealed late in the film.

When the oil begins to flow, Plainview raises his stained hand to heaven in an almost religious way, as though he were worshipping the oil. He then marks the forehead of his adopted son with the same oil, again almost like a religious ceremony. It is suggested, mainly through Jonny Greenwood’s eerie, avant-garde music score, that this action actually constitutes Plainview putting some kind of curse on the baby, and neatly foreshadows later oil related events. A few years later, the main story begins, as Plainview purchases lands for his latest oil drilling operation, from which he wishes to build a pipeline to the sea. But he comes into conflict with the young, fiery local preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), who tries through blackmail and other means to ensure his church benefits financially from the drilling. It is the clash between these two formidable figures that forms the bulk of the film.

To say anymore about the plot would be unfair, not just because it’s an excellent story but because this is a true work of cinematic art that needs to be experienced, not read about. As a director, Paul Thomas Anderson is operating at almost Kubrick levels of genius. Some critics have suggested the prologue was unnecessary, but in my opinion it was vital, not only for the foreshadowing of later events, but also to simply set the dark, weirdly unsettling tone which resonates throughout the entire film. This is a picture that absolutely has to be seen on the big screen, not so much for the epic vistas (though there are plenty), but for its overall atmosphere. The phenomenal use of sound, music and Robert Elswit’s staggering cinematography, which makes brilliant and contrasting use of light and darkness, beautifully compliment Anderson’s extraordinary vision.

Although this film belongs to Daniel Day Lewis, there are a smattering of other extremely good performances including Ciaran Hinds (as Daniel’s colleague Fletcher Hamilton), Dillon Freasier, Russell Harvard (as the younger and older incarnations of Daniel’s son HW), and of course Paul Dano.

Regarding Paul Dano’s character Eli, ordinarily such an appalling portrayal of Christianity would have greatly irritated me. However, there are three main reasons I do not have a problem in this case. First, Hollywood’s unfortunate stereotyping of Christians in a bad way has greatly improved in recent years, so There will be blood can be viewed more as an isolated film rather than part of an overall trend. Second, Eli is clearly a charlatan who enjoys the power he holds over his congregations. Not only that, but his veiled greed is arguably worse than Plainview’s, since Plainview is a straight talking businessman who wears his greed on his sleeve. Although Plainview is appalling in his treatment of Eli and his deeds are darker, any sympathy the audience might have is eroded by Eli’s hypocrisy, manipulations and desire to consolidate his own power.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the characters of Eli and Plainview are symbolic of religion and big business, and the part they have played in shaping modern America. As such Eli’s character can be read as a critique of what happens when the church gets its fingers sticky, and one only has to look at certain brands of American televangelism to see how the gospel has been transformed into a business. Alternatively, the relationship between Plainview and Eli can be taken allegorically to symbolise recent international dealings between capitalist America and the religious Middle East, where oil interests are fought over. The film’s title, There will be blood, perhaps refers not only to literal blood, but oil itself, over which blood always seems to be spilt.

However, it can also be argued that this is not a political film, just a thumping good tragic parable about greed and how it corrupts the human soul. There are several very good cautionary tales of this nature dotted throughout cinema history, but what makes this unique is the combination of Paul Thomas Anderson’s inspired direction and Day Lewis phenomenal performance. The utter relentlessness of Plainview’s character in his obsessive desire for more, more, and still more, because he doesn’t know how to do anything else ultimately invokes pity. As a human being he is consumed with a tragic monomania that the audience senses from the very beginning will lead to his own destruction. To be fair, the controversially violent ending may initially leave some viewers scratching their heads, but after reflection, I believe it is an absolutely perfect finale to a modern masterpiece destined to be as revered as Citizen Kane by future critics.

Oh, and one line from the film, where Day Lewis bellows the word “Drainage” will eventually be one of the most quoted in cinema history. You’ll understand why once you’ve seen it.

Simon Dillon, February 2008.