Ok, so the big debate this year, as far as the Oscars are concerned, is the "Best Picture" category. "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" seem to be the front runners. After seeing "No Country..." I thought I had it figured out, I knew it was going to win best picture, even WITH all the hype behind "There Will Be Blood". So, let's review the movie...
Again, I'm not gonna tell you word for word what the movie is about, just basics... Daniel Day-Lewis is Daniel, "an oil man". His business is just beginning to boom when a boy comes to him and tells him of a place that has tons of oil. He goes out to California and the movie mainly takes place there, covering most of Daniel's life.
The movie is completely centered around the Daniel character... and who better than Daniel Day-Lewis to take on the role? The guy is amazing, brilliant, astonishing! This man loses himself in the character he plays. He has said he needs months, sometimes years to recover from the rigors of playing certain characters, that's nuts! His methods of preparing for a role will seriously shock you. In "There Will Be Blood", he BECOMES the character. Who/what is this character all about?....
Daniel is a deeply troubled man; but he presents himself well, for the most part. He takes care of himself physically, dresses decent, and speaks intelligently; but it's the emotions boiling underneath that shows great acting. Day-Lewis makes it uneasy to watch him, he makes it uncomfortable to be in the same theater as the character. You feel like he's going to explode with anger at any given moment... and when you think it's about to happen... he has a moving scene with his son in the movie, the character is human again, not just an oil machine. The movie shows a person's battle with his/her inner demons. Greed, envy, anger, and other emotions are also explored throughout the movie.
The movie has somewhat of a surprise ending that I will not spoil. If you pay attention throughout the movie, the ending will mean that much more to you. Blink, and you could miss the setup to the ending. For the most part, the movie has a conclusion, there is some room for the audience to make their own conclusion, but not much.
Overall, I would recommend this movie to anyone who truly enjoys an epic film, which is exactly what this was, EPIC. It follows the life and times of a man who is truly battling his own demons. Don't go watch this with people looking for an "action" film, but I guess the marketing shows that this is not that type of movie. Do I think it will beat out "No Country..." for the "Best Picture" Oscar? No, I don't think so. Daniel Day-Lewis will most definitely win the "Best Actor" Oscar hands down, his performance alone is worth the 10.50 ticket price, and the great story and dialogue are just the icing on the cake. This is a must see!
