|
www.kevacho.com
©2002-2024
Kevin Michael Vance
Writer - Portland, Oregon
|
|
|
Go Back To Reviews
Title: THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Year: 2007
Reviewed: March 27, 2008
| Rating: |
|
 | |
| |
| |
| |
Four Course Meal-Highest Rating |
[Rating Definitions]
|
|
|
All right, I know. I know. 'Bout bloody time I got back to this site and threw down a few more reviews. Right? RIGHT? Well, ya' gotta understand. I've been writing. And for me that takes precedence over most things; including this here, humble website o' mine.
So, as it concerns the film, "There Will be Blood".
As simple as it gets -- I liked it. I liked it very much. However, and I know I may be in the minority here, I don't think it was great. It does warrant a FOUR COURSE MEAL review, but a lower one. Personally, I preferred "No Country for Old Men" to "There Will be Blood". Can they be compared? Doubtful. They are, in point of fact, two utterly different movies. Yet, they were both up for best picture Oscar nominations, and in my mind, that makes them comparable.
"There Will be Blood's" success rests squarely on the shoulders of one man, and that be Daniel Day Lewis. Granted, some of the cinematography was absolutely stunning, sets were wonderful, and the majority of the actors were, also, wonderful. However, and this is typical in most movies with Lewis, he is so good, so believable, his performance so palpable, that he seems to dwarf all the other actors in the film. Indeed, this is not so self evident in "Blood" as it is in say -"Gangs of New York"- however Lewis is a freakin' force of nature. He is a volcano erupting throughout the movie; every square inch of his body is the character, Daniel Plainview. And this is a testament to the actor, giving him more worth, even if, by some fluke of fate, he had not won the Oscar for Best Male Lead.
Strangely enough, there was one thing I did NOT like about "Blood". And again, I realize I may be outnumbered here, but I thought the music was glaring, bombastic, and egregious. Many will argue that the music in "Blood" was a component of the films mood, it's discordant harmonies and overbearing rhythms and shrieking strings a part of the overall "feel" of the film. I would whole-heatedly disagree. I thought the music drew attention to its self, ostentatious if you will. I did not think it supported the film the way music should. Moreover, I found it infantile; whereas the scenes in the movie were real and palpable and strange and disturbing, the music was not; rather, I found it to be a poor facsimile of someone who was none of those things, attempting to replicate the lot. Music is one of the most important features to any film. I think of movies where the music is beautiful without being superfluous, well composed without being arrogant, powerful without being obvious, subtle without being weak. I think of composers like Mark Isham, Basil Poueldaris, even to a lesser degree Hans Zimmer and Iva Davies. All of these composers find sounds and notes and rhythms to seamlessly fit the tone, the emotional feel of each film upon which they work, they don't aggrandize or draw attention to themselves as did the composer of "There Will be Blood".
Disagree with me if you must, but go see "There Will be Blood", then "No Country for Old Men".
2007 was a good year for film.
|
|
