There Will Be Blood

 RATE THE MOVIE There Will Be Blood (TWB) Rating: ***1/2 It takes 11 and a half minutes of the film to come up with its first dialogue: `There she is!' Our protagonist Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) who has been assiduously digging into the bowels of the earth finds his hidden treasure: silver. That seems to set the note of this art house investigation into America's twin towers: oil and religion. It's reticent and diligent and grows on you. Although a turn-of-the-century account of a miner's growing fortunes as he taps the oil-rich Californian reserves and comes in conflict with the local godman, the film is relevant even today. Simply because America hasn't abandoned its obsession -- with oil and God -- till now. It's an epical portrayal of a not-so-nice man who grows into the archetypal capitalist, buying up all the land without bothering about the people who inhabit it. So much so, he even loses interest in his son after the kid is injured in an accident and ends up a tortured, mangled soul, instead of the astute business partner he was grooming him to be. Plainview plainly lacks humanism and is powered only by an unlimited greed for money as he bleeds the community of Little Boston dry. He dreams big and hopes to set up a pipeline to transmit his abundant supplies of oil without sharing his profits with the shipping companies, but dreams don't always come true. Specially when there is the local godman who wants a share in the oil money to augment the power of the church. So what if he's transforming religion into drama too, with his hysterical exorcisms and healing rituals....It's a disturbing picture of America's rise to power. Because if people like Daniel Plainview powered it to superpower status, the nation doesn't really have a happy past to reflect upon. Watch it for Anderson's eye for detail and for Daniel Day-Lewis who lends grandeur a period charm to Plainview despite his questionable motives. Do you agree with our film critic? Nikhat Kazmi, Film critic, The Times of India Rating Scale: *Poor, **Average, ***Good, ****Very Good, *****Outstanding PS: You may also SMS or email your views. Mail us on mytimesmyvoice@timesgroup.com with with short code for the movie name' mentioned in the subject line. To SMS, type MTMVREV, leave a space, type short code of the movie, leave a space, your rating 1/1.5/2/2.5/3/3.5/4/4.5/5. Add your name and comments, if any, and sms to 58888. Example: If you feel a movie is above 'Average' but not 'Good', rate it as 2.5Source