There Will Be Laughs

     When I sat down to write this review initially, the first sentence I wrote was about the fact that I'm not a particularly rabid P.T. Anderson fan. However, the more I think about it, I'm a least a fan of some kind. I've never seen Hard Eight or the love it/hate it Punch Drunk Love. I enjoyed Magnolia and found it to be emotionally engaging and creative; plus, who doesn't love Boogie Nights? The reason I'm telling you this is that, when I sat down to watch his new film, There Will B Blood, I had little to no expectations. Strike that; I half expected the film to be a over wrought, boring, snooty art house flick. So, I was happily surprised when I found myself sitting in an overcrowded theater, laughing my ass off at this movie. That may not be the response you were expecting, but I will explain eventually.
     There Will Be Blood is a very schizophrenic film. It cannot decide whether it wants to be a historical epic, a man's meteoric rise to fortune and his eventual fall, the tale of a father and son, a representation of the two driving forces of American culture, or a black comedy. Thankfully, this is not a bad thing. The film as all of these things and that only helps to rescue it from the boring pretension it could have been. The film is clearly inspired by Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Like Kane, the film's protagonist makes many choices, good and bad, rises to fame and power, only to eventually fall. Anderson does not hide the Welles influence, as he shouldn't. By taking the approach Welles did, Anderson creates a character who is both likable and unlikable, one who does good and bad. Because of this, the character of Daniel Plainview has a very authentic feeling. He is one of the more well rounded, realistic characters I've seen in a film since I can remember. This alone, coupled with Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, make the film worth seeing.

     As to the title of this review, the thing I loved the most about this film was the copious amounts of dark humor. I was surprised more than once to find myself laughing my ass off at this movie. The film is riddled with dark humor, especially towards the end. As a matter of fact, the film is worth seeing for the final scene alone which is both hilarious and satisfying. Most of the humor comes from Daniel Day-Lewis' great performance. However, it would not be nearly as satisfying of not for the acting of Paul Dano, who plays the main rival in the film.
     So, it's safe to say that I really liked this film, and I recommend it whole heartedly. For the potential viewer, I'd like to stress two points once more. Daniel Plainview is not an evil man or a "soul-dead" man like most reviews have been saying. That is far to easy a classification. Like the rest of us, he is simply a man. Also, keep your eye open for that dark humor I loved so much. Don't forget the milkshake.


Trailer


Submitted by Noah Soudrette