Movie: There Will Be Blood

I figure this blog may as well be devoted to the films I watch, too---I've always wanted to keep track of them.

Last night we went to see There Will Be Blood, which I knew nothing about except a) oil was involved b) Daniel Day-Lewis has been lauded for his performance c) it took place in California d) it was period.

It was the kind of film you think about afterward--I'll probably think about it for days. It was also, I felt, an excellent example of film using itself to actively be a part of the story, rather than blending the story together. Maybe that doesn't make much sense, but what I'm getting at is the sense I had, while watching the film, that is was definitely a film I was watching. I didn't pretend I was 'in' the story. The score, in particular, was used so strangely it couldn't help but stand out. And not in a bad way. I realized, later, the music was likely very strongly tied to the symbolism of the main character's soul. More than anything, the film was an intense, intimate portrait of one man--the choices he makes, the hubris that drives him; the neuroses, the ambition.

The entire long walk home, my husband and I kept up a running conversation about the film--things we liked, things we didn't, things springing to mind only then--and I have to say... any film that can keep us talking for nearly an hour afterward gets a solid thumbs up from me.