There Will Be Blood (2007)

I was lucky enough to see There Will Be Blood as part of the Paul Thomas Anderson 35mm Tour at the Prince Charles Cinema. Walking into the downstairs screen, I was shocked to see a full house, and there was an air of excitement in the room.

After seeing some of Anderson’s other works – namely Punch-Drunk Love and Inherent Vice – I’ve become a fan of his talent for storytelling and expert use of dialogue. It can be easy for filmmakers to suddenly make a film feel clunky and crammed by using unoriginal dialogue, but Anderson is able use minimal dialogue to maximum effect. I was able to learn so much about the main character, Daniel Plainview the ‘oilman’, within the first 15 minutes, without use of a single word.

There was a real tension running through the film – it felt like being in a pressure cooker, like the situation could explode at any moment! The cinematography really worked to create this, as did the use of shadows and lighting (something I loved in Punch-Drunk Love) as well as the warm, dry tones of the bleak oil mines. A soundtrack of dissonant strings, reminiscent of Bernard Hermann’s iconic scores for Hitchcock really heighten the tension to its peak and along with the brilliant costume and set design, which really helped to immerse me in the drama of the great Californian Oil Boom. Daniel Day Lewis’ and Paul Dano’s performances were spectacular. They were brilliantly able to embody their characters and put untold amounts of energy into every scene, my favourite being the infamous ‘milkshake’ exchange…

I think the highlight of my experience was being able to watch it all in 35mm format. The flickering frames helped to date the picture, which fit perfectly with the film’s period setting and helped me believe I really was watching events that took place in the late 1800’s!

All in all, There Will Be Blood was an awesome exploration of corruption and morality in a really interesting setting. It is definitely worth seeing, even if you’re not into period dramas!