There Will Be Blood 2007

A private user reviewed There Will Be Blood (2007)

A great movie but not to everyones taste

The main reason I was looking forward to seeing this movie is because Daniel Day-Lewis is in it, and he doesn't disappoint. He plays the role of Daniel Plainview and his life revolves around oil.

I will not go into great detail and write all about the plot and the characters and the storyline because I think it is best not to know all these things before you see a movie and to discover them for yourself. I will give some general advice though on whether or not you should decide to watch this movie.

It starts off very slow. It slowly builds momentum and the finale is certainly exciting to watch. It is a long movie and I enjoyed it so much that I was left a bit disappointed when it had finished because I wanted it to keep on going.

There are several different reasons that someone may have to want to watch a movie. Maybe for the storyline and development of characters? I certainly enjoyed being swept up in the story. For the intense acting or enjoyment of very quotable lines? There are a few crackers in here.

Daniel Day-Lewis thoroughly deserved his Best Actor Oscar because whether or not you like this movie, you cannot dispute the fact that he is a great actor and that he brought a lot of weight to the role. It is a sign of a great actor (I feel) when they can portray an unlikeable character, they can do horrible things or act in a way that is contradictory (be loving to their son sometimes and show affection yet be grotesque or rude to them the next) and yet you still find yourself liking them. An example of this is James Gandolfini in the Sopranos.

If you like light hearted romantic comedies or action packed blockbusters like Die Hard or movies with car chases and explosions then you may not enjoy this movie. There are no what one would call 'visualy breathtakingly exciting chases', the movies strengths lie more in the acting, the development of character relationships between Daniel Plainview and his son H.W. and the somewhat parallel story of quest for greed between Eli Sunday (who it is worth noting puts in an excellent turn) and Daniel Plainview. Daniel and Eli are both obsessed with the quest for money and their greed is evident, yet one tries to get there through oil and the other through the church and religion.

If you like movies which can be quite slow or plodding yet are kept interested because the story is interesting, the acting is top notch and you enjoy watching movies where you are not quite sure where the story is taking you or how it is going to end, then this movie may be for you.

mouseman reviewed There Will Be Blood (2007)

Certainly unusual

There will be blood isn't a movie for everyone. It's a long movie with not
much obvious happening in it. If you don't get it I can imagine there will be boredom.

The movie is set around the oil business in early 20th century USA. It
depicts a dark image and tells a story involving a prominent businessman and a devout preacher. It certainly has interesting themes and characters.

Just listening to Daniel Day-Lewis' mesmerizing voice was enough to keep me
alert. Paul Dano was great as a young preacher. Simply marvelous acting. I
have no doubt the movie succeeded all it wanted, but still the outcome
doesn't necessarily please the viewers. Why?

The score in the movie is distracting and even painful. Saying that the score fits the movie perfectly probably tells a lot of the movie in general. The movie tells a fairly realistic story of what life, and even success or the lack of, does to many people - turn them into hateful cynics. There will be blood is a lot of things, pleasant is not just one of them.

The movie has many levels and it is open to different interpretations - it is by no means a simple movie but a thought-provoking one. The change of a pleasant "oil man" to a repulsive drunk is done very well. Most of the viewers don't even remember how the character was in the beginning.

If you want to watch something out of the ordinary hollywood-canon I recommend this movie to you. Do not watch it if you're looking for a romantic comedy or the like. But even if you are into movies, it can be a toss-up between exceptional and simply weird.

A private user reviewed There Will Be Blood (2007)

There Will Be Blood

There certainly was blood in this movie, but not as much as the title depicts it. I was expecting a lot more blood! Blood pools and massacres and all. But unfortunatly I was disappointed. I still think that the leading man did a great job acting the character. I really came to dislike the main character, he was such a repulsive drunk! But I'd say this again was one of those too long a movies that wasn't really capturing at all!

kombinaat reviewed There Will Be Blood (2007)

Not the movie I expected

I must admit this movie was a bit of a disappointment. I hadn't read any reviews or seen any trailers of "There will be blood" before I ventured to watch it one evening, so I didn't know what to expect. This was probably why I was constantly waiting for the real story to begin or the true plot to unfold.. which never really happened.

This movie tells a story about a man engulfed in greed, bitterness and hatred. A man who is unable to enjoy his success because of his jealosy and animosity towards others, until he is driven to the brink of madness. The acting of Daniel Day-Lewis is enjoyable and spectacular and is really the strongest thread that keeps the story alive. I felt the plot was a bit incoherent and jumpy and didn't really offer any "whoa!" experiences or not much else for that matter. Sometimes I felt like I would have wanted to follow some other characters life story in the movie instead of the one being portrayed. Granted, the story has some interesting twists and even amusing elements, especially towards the end of it, but I do think this was generally intended to be a story focusing on the characters and their thoughts and feelings and not so much on any external events and incidents.

A decent psychological drama of things that can haunt a man. Clearly a great movie in it's chosen genre and style, but not the kind that I enjoy watching.