As a college senior in 1999, I was living a pretty isolated existence. Stuck in a rundown apartment building (and paying the unbelievably low rent of $225 U.S. per month) the only thing I had going for me was a premium cable package that helped advance my growing interest in film. One film stood out in particular: Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights.” (Yes, the movie about the porno industry). I had never seen anything quite like it. The camerawork, the dialogue, the storytelling … everything about the film struck me as very focused and borderline brilliant. I watched that movie nearly a dozen times in the crappy apartment, often forcing unwilling friends to join me in the viewing. What I gathered after the onslaught of views was this: there is no one in film like Paul Thomas Anderson. While I will always consider “Boogie Nights” his opus, Anderson’s other work is impressive and equally unique. The criminally underrated “Hard Eight” is a simple drama set in Reno, Nevada that explores (as usual in PTA flicks) relationships and the seedy underbelly of humanity. This movie preceded “Boogie Nights.” The follow-up to “Boogie Nights” was “Magnolia,” an ambitious Robert Altman-esque spread of several interconnecting lives in Los Angeles. Complex, bold and checking in at over three hours, “Magnolia” cemented PTA as a premier American auteur and also helped make a ripple in the critics’ inner circle. “Punch Drunk Love,” a disturbing take on the love story, was not embraced by all, and though I consider it Anderson’s weakest film, I still find it charming. And so, with all of these credits under his belt, Anderson took a nice, long break that tortured his fans and started rumblings that he might have lost his touch; that his time was over. When it was revealed his next film would be an allegory based on an Upton Sinclair novel, there was a lot of head-scratching. This all went away when “There Will Be Blood” debuted in the U.S., where it tanked at the box office because the plot did not involve any groin kicks, mega-Hollywood stars or celebrity voiceovers. (OK, that’s a bit harsh, but at least now you can see the glass house I am typing in). The financial success mattered not. “There Will Be Blood” was a critical darling that walked away with two Oscars and would have had more if not for the fierce awards battle with the equally awesome “No Country For Old Men.” And so, just when Anderson’s star appeared to be fading, he emerged with his most mature, innovative and influential work to date.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD
There’s a scene where Daniel Plainview is staring at a burning oil derrick, his eyes blazing, black gold smearing most of his face. In fact, the only clean parts are around his eyes and mouth, giving off the appearance of a skull — or more aptly, a demon. That’s not far from the truth. Plainview, played with reckless, redoubtable brilliance by Daniel Day-Lewis, is the very definition of ambition gone awry; success at any cost. From his humble beginnings, we see Plainview’s efforts to build an oil empire, all the while stepping on as many heads as possible without looking down to survey the damage. “There Will Be Blood” is a revelation. Maybe not now, maybe 20 years from now, this film will be considered as one of the greatest in American history. Why? Because it succeeds on every level necessary for a one-of-a-kind movie experience. Pushing aside Day-Lewis’ eerily perfect turn as Plainview, “There Will Be Blood” features innovative, entrancing cinematography, a Jonny Greenwood-penned soundtrack that echoes Stanley Kubrick and adds a surreal dimension, and enough imagery and metaphor to keep a philosophy student awake for days. Heavy stuff, to be sure. And in every effort to give a fair assessment (for my love of Paul Thomas Anderson, see above), it is with the strongest conviction that I will label this as PTA’s crowning achievement. In one wrenching scene, Plainview states: “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.” This becomes plain as day as the story develops; from his bizarre relationship with his son, to a long-lost relative entering his life, to a nasty competition with a shifty preacher (played smartly by Paul Dano) the soulless protagonist is interested only in taking without consequence; of viewing the world on his terms only; of bilking stupid people out of everything they have. Hmm, any relevance there to the times we live in? Greed, oil, death and destruction? Vigilant entrepreneurship? Add to that some age-old conundrums (spiritualism vs. pragmatism, business vs. family, forgiveness vs. vengeance) and you have yourself a classic.

10/10

“There Will Be Blood” premieres in Japan April 26th.

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