Well I saw it last night and it's utterly superb. I
have never been an Anderson fan. His previous films
always struck me as camera movements in search of a
story and characters -- but not all that interested in
finding them. "There Will Be Blood" is something else
entirely -- in a host of ways. Daniel Day Lewis hasn't
been before the camera in awhile and not it's as if
he'd been saving himself for this film. The character
that he plays is so hateful and destructive as to make
DeNiro's Jake La Motta in "Raging Bull" seem as warm
and fuzzy as Barney. Neither he nor Anderson spares us
a thing, making sure we can't possibly look away from
this train wreck of a human being for a nanosecond.

Paul Dano is the real breakout here. We expect DDL to
be terrific but I would never have suspected the very
promising young man from "Little Miss Sunshine" had a
performance like this in him.

All tech credits pro, especially Robert Elswit's
cinematography. In a palette that's primarily black
and brown he has discovered all manner of shadings.
And Jonny Greenwood's score is one of the most radical
-- and successful, ever. It's like Charlemagne
Palestine ever-so-slightly "cued" to specific dramatic
moments. Scary great.

I have no idea how this will fare critically, and it's
commercial prospects are severely limited -- though it
should do quite well overseas and recoup fairly
easily. But I am really pleased to discover that
Anderson isn't a mere cinematic showboat but a REAL
filmmaker.

BTW, it's dedicated to Altman and MAN would he ever
have been proud.



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