Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors in the history of film. Without question he can be thrown in the pot with guys like Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro whose collective work over the last half century has given firm definition to the term “method actor.” Moreover, it is exceedingly rare for an individual performer to so completely dominate the screen in any given role that you can barely remove your eyes from them; yet that is exactly what happens with Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson’s spellbinding film, There Will Be Blood. In a year that has finally delivered several terrific films worthy of taking home Oscar, this is one that will have you stirring long after you exit the theater.

In what many people consider to be the very best picture of this Oscar year, director Anderson (Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love) opted to scale Mount Everest by adapting a story from the one and only Upton Sinclair, the famous son of a bitch who was known for expressing his passions in literature, socialism, and muckraking. “Oil” was the name of the story and its primary theme explores the myopic views of money and business that so many industrialists have shared throughout the history of our country (and mankind). There are not many who could realistically bring the character of Daniel Plainview to the big screen with the intensity and conviction required to actually pull it off. And to be completely honest, I’m not sure there is anyone other than Daniel Day-Lewis who could literally become this character to such an amazing degree that you swear it’s not merely a performance.

Set near the turn of the 20th Century, There Will Be Blood tells the tale of an ambitious oil man named Daniel Plainview who is tipped off to a massive oil field resting under the struggling ranch of a man named Able Sunday. Plainview, assisted by his young son H.W., makes a proverbial deal with the devil by purchasing the ranch from the Sunday family and getting forever involved with Sunday’s preacher son, Eli (played wonderfully by Paul Dano). As the oil derricks begin springing-up throughout the countryside, Plainview and Eli become embroiled in a fascinating (and highly symbolic) power play in the small community. The influence of money and industrial growth offered by Plainview is countered with the word of God and spiritual salvation promised by Eli. As the flow of oil rises to the surface with an ocean of money behind it, the stakes grow ever greater and graver for both of them.

Despite a performance so good that a Best Actor Oscar seems a sure thing, it would be an injustice to Paul Thomas Anderson to merely attribute the success of the film to Daniel Day-Lewis alone. Indeed, this film is gloriously shot in the wide open outdoors of Central California by legendary Cinematographer Robert Elswit. Outside of the safe confines of a Hollywood sound stage, a production always runs the risk of being swallowed by the vastness of the exterior filming location. Never was such a gambit more evident than in this film; yet Elswit masterfully captures the landscape and all of its subtleties in such a way that the land itself rightfully becomes a central character in this epic movie. Consequently, the various performances are given a little extra zeal when set against the stunning backdrop. To add, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood provides the chilling original music that will make your spine tingle.

The Oscar race was hot before, but it is positively on fire with the release of this film. There Will Be Blood is a long movie (165 minutes), but it is so engrossing that it scarcely feels longer than any other film. Day-Lewis gives a performance so outrageously explosive that it will be looked back on for decades to come as one of the great extroverted roles of all-time, right there with Pacino in Scarface or Nicholson in The Shining. Of course, it helps that Anderson’s screenplay is full of shocking, funny, and brutally violent scenes that will be seared into your mind forever. In short, it has everything you could ask for in a great film and it will likely be handsomely rewarded at the awards shows. Just as important, though, are its keen insights into the corruptible hearts of men and how unfettered greed has played a vital role in the evolution of civilization.

By Chris Virnig