The Beef discusses the notion of THERE WILL BE BLOOD being equated to CITIZEN KANE...

Hey folks, Harry here... I love THERE WILL BE BLOOD - in my opinion it is still by far, the best film I've seen this year... and probably the last several years. The performance by Daniel Day Lewis is toweringly iconic. And while bringing films like TREASURE OF SIERRE MADRE, CITIZEN KANE and THE GODFATHER up in comparison - to me, it isn't about this being the BETTER film, but rather a film of THAT QUALITY and that deals with the rather horrifying extremes that success at all costs can drive one. So I'm quite happy to have another viewer chime in with an examination about KANE and BLOOD - so lets hand it over to The Beef...

One of the more annoying things that people like to do when describing something that is not great, but is good enough, they sarcastically compare it to the greatest thing in that particular category of things. Such as, in the case of film, people like to say, "It ain't CITIZEN KANE, but...". Well, you know what, what the hell in the lifelong history of film is "CITIZEN KANE"? If you're going to describe something don't tell me what it isn't. I don't care if it's not CITIZEN KANE, because 99.998 percent of films are not "CITIZEN KANE." I'd rather someone say that something is like something than not like something. I'm happy to say, that with the film THERE WILL BE BLOOD I'm not tempted to say "It ain't CITIZEN KANE, but..." In fact, I'm saying, "...This may just be "CITIZEN KANE"." Without sounding like a cinema blasphemist, I do know what I'm dealing with. CITIZEN KANE will always remain the most influential American film ever. EVER. The change in filmmaking from before Orson Welles to after is too incredibly contrastive that no film will ever be able to change the medium the way that he did. So, in terms of historical significance THERE WILL BE BLOOD probably will not be on par with KANE. But, to say that another movie is incapable of reaching the quality of CITIZEN KANE is absurd, because P.T. Anderson's latest and greatest does just that. The film is about the steady rise of miner Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, from the rags of small time silver mining, to the riches of big time oil drilling. He begins somewhat of a simpleton, and by chance he comes upon a deep covered oil well in his mining efforts. This would be the starting point of his journey to wealth, and his descent into obsession, and a deadly degree of greed. That moment is really just the kickstart of his delve into a new business, but the more oppurtunities you get, the more chances you have to allow yourself to fall into the traps of temptation. While the by-luck finding of his initial oil well is presented almost as a gift, the next big piece of information that he purchases from a savvy farmboy, about untapped oil running beneath their land (and possibly even going throughout the thousands of acres of the surrounding townspeople's land) seems, from the get go, to have a potentially large amount of trouble attached, and I mean from both of ends of purchaser of the land and the honest, good ol' American land owners willing to sell it. But, when you see dollar signs, and you're as persistent as Daniel Plainview, not even the good natured religious folk that own this oil goldmine stand a chance against the cunning business and salesman skills of a ruthless oil machine. The combination of Daniel Day-Lewis with P.T. Anderson makes all kinds of parallel sense. In their respective fields of expertise, they've both shown meticulous care in project picking. But, making even more sense of the pairing of P.T. Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis, is the pairing of Daniel Day-Lewis with the character of Daniel Plainview. The reason being is that one person has already played someone like Daniel Plainview within the past 10 years. That person played the part so well that I was shocked that he wasn't awarded for his efforts the first go around. I don't foresee that same overlook happening again. That man was Daniel Day-Lewis. That role was Bill the Butcher. Before I make it sound like I'm giving Daniel Day-Lewis a backhanded compliment by saying that he's mimicking a role he's already perfected, I'm not. The characters share similar attributes, but Daniel Plainview is somewhat Bill the Butcher in disguise. On the surface, Plainview presents himself a caring family man (he does have a son) and a worker for the people. He tells the people whatever they need to hear to gain their trust so that he can drill. But, like every successful salesman, what you see is usually not what you get. We know these people shouldn't buy into him. How do we know that? Because Daniel Day-Lewis is so damn good at his craft, that he nearly made me believe that he was in fact a family man looking to work for the benefit of the people. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to portray a character this layered. It's not as if the character just completely evolves from one thing to something else as the story progresses. Very early on we see hints of Bill the Butcher, but they're constantly covered up after quick glimpses. Daniel Day-Lewis flawlessly keeps his wicked nature right beneath the surface, but directly behind his eyes. If Daniel Plainview was a house, and we were looking at it from the street, the Bill the Butcher personality is the guy we see eerily looking down at us from the attic window for a few seconds, and then is no longer there once we blink. Steadily, as the film progresses, we see The Butcher begin to look at us from the different room windows, and he looks for a bit longer. By the end of the picture, it seems as if The Butcher has murdered everyone in the home, and now watches over the entire property. If there's one thing that's better than seeing Daniel Day-Lewis play a character as physically brutal as Bill the Butcher, it's seeing him play someone with so much god given guile that he convinces you that he's not Bill the Butcher, and I was completely convinced. Also bringing in a strong turn is Paul Dano, as both the savvy farmboy who sells the information about the untapped oil-rich land, and also as that same boy's twin brother. Don't worry, that last bit about the twin brother is not a spoiler. This isn't some cheap gimmicky twist brought upon by P.T. Dano is given a great oppurtunity to play the character that helps bring out Plainview's true colors. Little by little Daniel Plainview has evident problems holding back his true self in public, and part of that is because Dano's character is the person most capable of getting under Plainview's skin. Plainview is a remarkably strong character, so it would take a great deal of skill for an actor to make us believe that his character is worthy of being the entire bail of hay that breaks Plainview's back. Few, if any things, are able to get to Plainview in a bothersome way, to a point where he has to let out his real self, but Dano's character can do that, and Dano is stellar in playing it. He's a confident boy with his own set of skills, and he uses all he can to go head to head with the master. And watching these two actors do just that with one another is one of the most satisfying screen faceoff's of all time. P.T. Anderson is methodically becoming the most consistently great filmmaker from the 90s generation of directors. His films give great roles to some of the greatest actors alive, some of which has been the highlight of their career. Beyond that, though, he's shown great skill with each passing film in making his films, HIS films. That's not saying that they're all the same, but they're all definitely P.T. Anderson. He has a visual voice that sounds talented and educated, and that comes across with each picture. Even the ones that put forth a challenge to really like. This film may be his most accessible to date. It's just classic storytelling told with a focus on including the points in the story that directly affect Plainview's conflicting rise in wealth and demise in morale. Just like a certain Orson Welles character. If there's one connective thread for each Anderson film, it's that they have a gorgeous presentation. In that sense he's become the modern day Terrence Malick with his ability to make beatiful pictures using sometimes empty scenery. What fun would film be if we constantly considered something to be untouchable? American film did not stop producing greatness after 1941. That wasn't necessarily the peak of quality, maybe just the peak of significant influence. THERE WILL BE BLOOD will probably not influence the film medium in a way that's on a par with CITIZEN KANE. I guess only time will tell. So, in terms of importance to American film, CITIZEN KANE will probably always reign supreme. But, come the worldwide release of THERE WILL BE BLOOD, I say see it, and judge for yourself which film you think may in fact be the best representation of the misguided goal of achieving the great American Dream. The dream to come from nowhere and reach the heights of the heaven of wealth, no matter what. I say, come December 26, 2007...let the debates begin. THE BEEF