A while back in a review I wrote of THERE WILL BE BLOOD, that “I suspect with further time and consideration it may prove to be one of the better films I’ve seen, well, ever. Without any shred of understatement, I feel it is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece.” The reason I suggested rather than asserted, was because when I first saw the film I was wholly unprepared for the deep wells of thematic explorations the film offered me. It was like stepping outside with an umbrella expecting a light rainstorm but walking into a raging hurricane instead. I absorbed enough of the films ideas to know it was brilliant, but felt I was only tapping the surface of what it was really getting into.
That’s why with the release of the film finally on Blu-Ray I thought it would be a good time to not only enjoy Robert Elswit’s gorgeous Oscar winning cinematography in glorious high definition, but to see if THERE WILL BE BLOOD not only holds up as a “cinematic masterpiece” but to further immerse myself in its rich tapestry of themes and see how far down the rabbit hole I could actually go. So, tapping into my former film student I grabbed pen and paper, turned on my brain for once, and threw myself into the film with analytical zeal to see what I could come up with.
After a second viewing, and a full ten pages of notes, I am certain it’s a cinematic masterpiece. I also began to more fully comprehend the overwhelming flood of themes being explored in the film. I’ll refrain from going into all of them, because it would turn this article into a bigger monster than it already is. But if you’re really interested or just generally curious, feel free to email me about it.
Anyway, amid the flurry of interpretations and analyses that filled my brain as the images on the screen passed me by, there was one that caught me completely surprise.
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Here’s a exciting/strange bit of news I’d take with a grain of salt (or perhaps… oil? Except oil doesn’t come in grains. Damn, that attempt at a clever pun totally backfired on me). Anyway, those of you who were wondering what Paul Thomas Anderson would do after his cinematic tour-de-force THERE WILL BE BLOOD, may have found your (inexplicable) answer. Apparently Aki Saito (guy at gaming company KONAMI), claims that Paul Thomas Anderson is interested in directing the feature film adaptation of the incredibly successful video game franchise, METAL GEAR SOLID. Like I said, who knows how legit this actually is, but it’s certainly an interesting proposition. It’s also a bit of a mind-blowing shift of gears from BLOOD, but I wouldn’t really complain because it might very well result in a video game film that didn’t completely suck.
Source: /Film
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Not only the best film of last year, but I suspect with further time and consideration it may prove to be one of the better films I’ve seen, well, ever. Without any shred of understatement, I feel it is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece. It’s not just the sheer audacity of the filmmaking – score, cinematography, script – or the performances of Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Mano (who has gone horribly unrecognized for his work here). It’s also not just the fact that film signals an almost unbelievable tonal shift and leap in accomplishment from Paul Thomas Anderson’s previous work (which was already really good). It’s the incredible depth that slowly emerges from the deceptively simple narrative as the film beings to work you over while watching but especially later when it still haunts you and you begin to gain the benefit of hindsight. Those who have complained that the story is cliché, bare or even non-existent, I feel are missing the point. Watching THERE WILL BE BLOOD for the story is kind of like reading “Hamlet” or “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” for its narrative. The film – like those works – is about greater artistic ambitions and ideas, not plot. It’s a film that, much like the works of Fellini, Truffaut, or Bergman, requires you to engage in an intellectual conversation with it, to be completely mentally alert and receptive (in other words a film student’s absolute dream). With multiplexes being flooded with films that require you to turn off your brain, finding a film that actually challenges your brain a little should be more than a welcome change for most. Unless you’ve had a long, tiring week. Then you might be just better off with a milkshake.
Grade: A+
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For those of you who can’t get enough of last year’s real best film, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, over at the blog /film, Hunter Stephenson has written a review of the film that’s really more akin to an academic paper. It’s insanely long (be sure to grab yourself a cup of tea and a comfy chair), and only for those who think a film can actually be read on such an intellectually intense level. Sure, there are some issues with the piece – most of them covered by the people commenting on it on the site – but if anything, it will do what all good semi-academic film analysis should: make you consider your own interpretation of a film that lends itself well to such in-depth considerations.
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