This leads into the true depth of the movie. Yes, it is about oil, yes it is about conflict, but the real heart of the story is our look at this man, Daniel Plainview. Daniel Day-Lewis brings this character to us and under the superb direction of Paul Thomas Anderson brings his ugliness to the front and exposes it raw to the viewers. Plainview is a man who hates people by his own admission; he has built his hates up all his life until he can feel them boiling over. He is also a man who knows he needs people, land, and leases, so he pretends to have social skills, he pretends to be a normal man in society, but all he can feel is the hate and he is driven to claim all he can as his own. This is a movie about someone losing his grip on his humanity and social mores as he succumbs to his ego and single-minded nature.

As most of the movie has us following Daniel Plainview and exploring his personality and motives we are lucky that someone like Daniel Day-Lewis was cast in the lead role. He recently won an Academy Award for this performance and watching him become this man, you know why. This is one of the best performances I have seen in a long while and you can truly see that he became Daniel Plainview and brings us along to experience who this man is. From glances that carry the weight of retribution, to angry tirades to soft-spoken sales pitches, we see this man as he is and are both repulsed and interested in experiencing his story. This is a true sign of an exceptional actor, to pull us into this world and truly see him as the character and not an actor playing one.

Paul Thomas Anderson and his talented teams further draw us into Plainview's world by pulling together evocative imagery, a haunting score that focuses on sustained moments of intense sound, and the character-driven acting we have the pleasure of watching. There Will be Blood is a brilliant film that is an artistic triumph, both from a cinematic and emotional standpoint. It is gratifying to see a movie like this in an age where more and more flash is favored over substance.