I have no
idea why I waited so long to review this film. I distinctly remember loving it
the first time I saw it. What I then should have done is review the darn thing
ASAP while all the details were fresh in my mind. This is important because the
film is round about 2,5 hours long. Well, no matter, I’m doing it now – better
late than never and all that jazz. Because, seriously, you need to know about
this film. Don’t even let the fact that it is 2,5 hours long bother you. Even
if you’re a purist, like me, in the sense that you have to watch something from
beginning to end without leaving any for next day, it goes quickly. And stop
sniggering, no I do not have OCD. I have principles. Not the same thing at all…
My Mom’s
favourite actor Daniel Day Lewis stars as Daniel Plainview, a prospector living
at the turn of the 19th century. Daniel has a single, solitary
passion in life: power. Power and riches. And he will stop at literally nothing
to achieve it. Whether it takes back-breaking manual labour or manipulation of
his own son, show Daniel the way to power, he will go for it. This is why he
reckons it’s his lucky day when, quite out of the blue, a young man appears on
his doorstep informing him of a large quantity of oil on his family ranch – and
demanding only a measly sum of money for the information. Mr Plainview and co
find themselves in a small town in rural California, a town that both progress
and good fortune seem to have passed by. At first, all seems to go well for Mr
Plainview, he is a rich prospector with a reputation, and buying land relatively cheaply from the impoverished villagers is easy. However, the
more he stays, the more Mr Plainview begins to be confronted with problems and
foes he cannot buy his way away from. And the most notable of all these will in
time become his nemesis: the charismatic evangelical preacher Eli Sunday (Paul
Dano) who has a bone to pick with Daniel – and I don’t just mean on the ethical
front…
There are
so many things I love about this film I barely know where to begin. First of
all – conversely you might think – the length. Now, it is quite common to set
films over a period of time, years, and decades even. However, as this period
cannot realistically be portrayed in real time, it is common practice to
“imply” the passage of time. The film is usually around 1.5 hours to 2 hours
long, so the events are “condensed” accordingly. Now, in this little (well,
maybe not so little) masterpiece, what director Paul Thomas Anderson does is
concentrate on a few key events and really draw them out in a way that allows
us to see the details in these key events. None of your Hollywood style quick
exchanges or “superfluous” events to provide insight into the characters here.
You watch lives and events unfold at as realistic a pace as cinema technology
of today will allow. This is great on many levels, not least because it really,
really lets you get to know our two main characters, Daniel Plainview and Eli
Sunday. Neither of these men are particularly likable, however, as you get to
know them in depth you begin to, if not sympathise, see where they’re coming
from too. And that you see is a clear sign of good character construction, more
specifically the construction of a good villain. The key is, no one is just
evil. That would make a flat, two-dimensional character and nothing more. Here,
Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday are so real, you almost believe they exist.
Speaking of believing people exist, I want to address this fact that Paul Dano has
been, apparently, criticised about his performance in this film. Can someone
please explain what is supposed to be wrong with it, because I can’t find a
single flaw. I mean yes, if you expect him to act like a “typical” preacher,
you will be disappointed – especially if you expect him to do so in all areas
of his life. But what is typical anyway? And the whole point is that, despite
being a man of the cloth, he is just as bad as Daniel Plainview in so many
ways… Which is specifically why the two have so much trouble getting along. As
for Daniel Day Lewis, he makes a wonderful villain and his performance is as
astounding as always. Writing a complex
character like Daniel Plainview is hard enough in itself, on top of that, you
need the acting talent to actually pull it off and Daniel Day Lewis is more
than up to the task.
Be warned,
this film will leave you feeling as if you have been hit by a freight train. In
a good way though. I mean come on, I live for that “freight train” feeling I
sometimes get after watching a film and it seems to me it’s getting a rarer and
rarer occurrence these day – but anyway. That’s the topic of another article I
guess… In the meanwhile, do watch this. It’s a real cracker.
Kayıtlar
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder