[direwolf74]

Esthete and I saw it this past weekend and were generally underwhelmed. While Daniel Day Lewis' performance was brilliant, the film as a whole simply seemed to tread water. There was no real development, in terms of plot, and very little in terms of character. It felt like there were so many avenues to explore (Eli, the, ah, brother whose name escapes me, H.W.'s accident) yet all were left untouched. Admittedly, its been awhile since I've read Upton Sinclair's Oil!, but there has to be some sort of story arc that's stronger than what's presented in the film, right? In my opinion, without DDL, this effort wouldn't even be considered by the academy.

-Jenna

I agree for the most part, but as with any novel it's tough to fit all that stuff into a single movie. Plus, unlike P.T. Anderson's other films, this movie is obviously not an ensemble piece. This is Daniel Day-Lewis' movie and it seems the only story Anderson was interested in telling was Plainview's, and I think he made the right choice. The flick is already close to 3 hrs long. The story threads involving Eli and his brother and H.W.'s accident would probably be enough to fill an entire movie on their own. Anderson would have to make this thing into a trilogy to fully explore the novel. All in all I think the movie works very well as a character study, and the pacing was awesome.

[The Horrible Esthete]

Esthete and I saw it this past weekend and were generally underwhelmed. While Daniel Day Lewis' performance was brilliant, the film as a whole simply seemed to tread water. There was no real development, in terms of plot, and very little in terms of character. It felt like there were so many avenues to explore (Eli, the, ah, brother whose name escapes me, H.W.'s accident) yet all were left untouched. Admittedly, its been awhile since I've read Upton Sinclair's Oil!, but there has to be some sort of story arc that's stronger than what's presented in the film, right? In my opinion, without DDL, this effort wouldn't even be considered by the academy.

-Jenna

I disagree. Yea, there were other avenues they could've explored and the novel most likely had a stronger story arc, but it's tough to fit all that stuff into a 2 1/2 hour movie. P.T. Anderson would've had to pull a Peter Jackson and make it into a trilogy to fully explore the novel. The flick is already close to 3 hrs long, and I thought it was the quickest 3 hrs I've ever sat through. It was great.

Interesting.

I thought it was a well-shot and incredibly well-acted film, but nothing was compelling for me beyond the Plainview and Sunday characters. Otherwise, it was just was a two and a half hour sketch of a ruthless, soul-less oil tycoon (imagine that) and his "conflict" with a so-called "antagonist" that never seemed too threatening to me.

I will agree that the 3 hours seemed "quick" to me too -- probably because I was anticipating a heightening of conflict or an unforseen twist which never materialized...

[ikky99]

Anyone see the Daniel Day Lewis flick There will be blood? The preview looks pretty killer!@

Just saw it Sat nite. Very strange movie but Lewis is worthy of 2 Oscars for the performance!