"There Will Be Blood"

As part of my 'stay up all night strategy' to dealing with my cold, I rented "There Will Be Blood" on DVD, starrying Daniel Day-Lewis, and based on Sinclair Lewis' novel "Oil!".

The film follows the rise to power of Daniel Plainview - a charismatic and ruthless oil prospector, driven to succeed by his intense hatred of others and psychological need to see any and all competitors fail. When he learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property. Using his young adopted son H.W. to project the image of a caring family man, Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish. Over time, Plainview's gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life.

Despite Lewis' excellent acting, the great cinematography, and the amazing score, I was surprised this movie won two Academy Awards. Everything about this movie conspires to remove it from general sympathy. This movie is NOT a 'chick flick', but rather its absolute antithesis. Women have almost no role in the picture. Family life is so attenuated, so fraudulent, so vestigial, as to be almost (not quite) meaningless.

Nevertheless, the movie does have its charms. Great charms! To anyone interested in the America West and the pursuit of mineral wealth, particularly oil, it is a wonderful chronicle. There are a number of references to mining in New Mexico (the movie starts in Engle, NM, and there are references to Silver City as well).

The movie also has attractions for atheists, and fellow thinkers. To anyone interested in the triumph of business over religion in American life, the entire last scene in the Bowling Alley is a vivid nightmare. Paul Dano's Eli Sunday is no match for Daniel Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview's volcanic hatreds! Religion = Weakness in Plainview's world-view!

Raw, brutal, real!

The movie purports to be about California, particularly the oil fields in Kern County, but interestingly, much of the movie was filmed in the Marfa/Alpine, Texas area, the same place featured so well in "No Country For Old Men". Two recent cinematic triumphs for West Texas!

But still, the Academy must be praised for seeing past the repelling parts of the movie to celebrate and award its charms. Mining is an interesting and absorbing subject, but it's just the thing that sends audiences right out the door!