As a fitting after-event to a Super Bowl party at my friend Willam’s, I decided to go see There Will Be Blood. Wow, I expected it to be good because I love Paul Thomas Anderson, but I was absolutely blown away by Daniel Day-Lewis. He is always good as a period character (Age of Innocence, Gangs of New York), but this was just beyond the beyond. It’s a long film and not an easy one to watch because of the relentless hatred of his character Daniel Plainview. There’s just a sense of dread that hangs over the movie. You get the sense he is one step away from killing anyone he’s near, either accidentally or more likely on purpose. Paul Dano was really great, too, as twins Paul and Eli Sunday.
