It’s awesome. Go see it.

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That could actually have been it, but i suppose that it might warrant some justification. There Will Be Blood is a new film by Paul Thomas Anderson starring the hermit of hollywood, Daniel Day-Lewis, as a megalomaniacal mining man (try that 3 times fast) who walks the line between protagonist and antagonist before firmly smashing both categories right in the face and establishing his dominion over the proverbial sandbox, as megalomaniacs are wont to do.

There is not much to say about Day-Lewis. Refer to the opening two sentences. What starts as a borderline caricature (we’ve all heard the voice) transcends into something far more than even the most insightful character. There are some examples of filmmakers (Malick and Kubrick come to mind) who ascend so far to the top of their medium that symbolism and analogy and even description seem needless: the film itself evokes a visceral and intellectual reaction without the need of mediation. Day-Lewis has accomplished as much with his performance, communicating so effectively the vices and history of not just the past century but all of humanity without strings. He is acting, unplugged.

I don’t think the film accomplishes quite as much as Day-Lewis does, but it is an extremely thought provoking and intelligent look at our global economy’s dirty history. I really enjoy the generic intertwining of the western and mogul movie. I don’t know if you can call mogul movies a genre, but they certainly seem to have a set of codes unique to their conditions. There Will Be Blood is like The Searchers mixed with Wall Street, and it’s a good combination.

I’ve avoided making the obvious Citizen Kane comparisons, but let’s leave it by saying Orson would be happy. Again, it’s awesome. Go see it.