“I’m your brother… from another mother.”

There Will Be Blood is one of those movies that is really difficult to write a review on. At its most basic level, it seems, well, rather basic. It’s when you dive deeper into the themes and character development that you really start to see just how well constructed it really is, and why it nearly won Best Picture.

It starts off with perhaps one of the greatest opening scenes maybe ever. There is practically no dialogue at all for the first ten to fifteen minutes or so, as you are forced to just watch and understand the life that Daniel Plainview, our main character here, already lives. All of this is elevated by an absolutely haunting but beautiful sounding score.

I’m just going to go ahead and get the obvious out of the way, with that being Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance as Daniel Plainview. There is a reason why it’s held up as one of the greatest performances of all time, because, while it isn’t subtle at all, it’s the type of performance where the actor completely transforms into their respective character. I remember the first time I watched this film, I already heard plenty of praise about his performance, and yet was still amazed by it. It was probably the second time a performance really stuck with me, the first one being Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

There Will Be Blood isn’t just carried by its terrific central performance, however, because the story presented is also outstanding. Plainview is this oil man who starts off pretty okay for the most part, if a bit on the weird side, but throughout the story transforms into a monster corrupted by wealth and power. While Lewis’s performance isn’t subtle, the slow character progression certainly is, and it wowed me on both first watch and this most recent viewing.

The main heart of the story is the relationship between Plainview and his son, H.W.. Without going into too much, it shows just how driven Daniel is by wealth and power, so much to the point where he will even use people, like his own son, to get to that point. It’s an incredibly sad aspect to the story, but also plays a huge part in what makes it so poignant and powerful. I really wish I could talk about this aspect of the movie more, but I think going any further would dive heavily into spoiler territory.

Paul Dano, who pretty much plays the supporting role, is also incredible in this film (despite what Quentin Tarantino thinks). He plays this young preacher who “befriends” Plainview, and runs a rather intense church to say the least. He is another interesting character in that he is rather creepy and unsettling, but you pity him because of what happens to him throughout the story and how he is taken advantage of by Daniel.

Filmmaking wise, There Will Be Blood is yet again on another level with. I mean, talk about dirtying the frame because this is one of the grainiest, yet meticulously crafted shot films I think I’ve ever seen. It’s not just old and dirty looking because of the time period, even though that does further the immersion of the setting this film takes place in, but it also adds this uncomfortable atmosphere that lasts for the entire runtime. You really feel the heat and the grimy environment.

And do you know what complements the filmmaking excellently? The score. The score definitely isn’t one of those that you just put on randomly (or really at all) as background music, but it serves its purpose in the film perfectly. It can be classy or even fun, but it never ceases to have a haunting undertone to it. I’m honestly shocked that the composer of There Will Be Blood, Jonny Greenwood, hasn’t really been given all that much work in film outside of Paul Thomas Anderson’s works.

There Will Be Blood is simply one of the greatest tragedies I think ever told in cinematic history, because it doesn’t just focus on the main character, but how the main character affects and corrupts those around him. It’s just a perfectly crafted film for what it is, and I honestly have nothing negative to say about it. It’s perfectly paced, edited, written, and directed, and I think, one of the best movies to come out of the twenty-first century thus far. I could easily see this having a perfect score for me in years to come with further rewatches.