To Live & Die in LA: Review of Swingers

Classic from the Vault

Swingers

Director: Doug Liman

By Alex Watson

It is always charming when there is a comedy which creeps into our lives from absolutely nowhere and nearly makes our sides split from laughing. The nineties had it share of these movies such as Clerks, Groundhog Day and the Hot Shots films, but one movie that still stands up is Doug Liman’s tale of four men letting loose around Los Angeles in his 1996 movie Swingers which gave us a raw but ultimately real depiction of people search fame and more importantly, themselves.

Comedian Mike (Jon Favreau) had recently moved to Los Angeles from New York and is currently struggling to find any work- he is also unable to get over his failed six year relationship which end shortly before he arrived. His best friend Trent (Vince Vaughn) decides that to cheer him up, he will make it his mission to find Mike a new girl- in doing this the two men and their other companions Rob (Ron Livingstone) Charles (Alex Desert) and hot headed Sue (Patrick Van Horn) will learn valuable lesson about life and friendships and why you should only leave one voicemail!

A huge box office success on a microscopic budget, Swingers is one those 1990’s films that has stood the test of time and today is still as profoundly hilarious and affecting as it was previously. Written by former comedian Favreau, we are given a script that gives us a cluster of great character whom we can each identify with in some many ways. The core the film consists of the four men trawling various parties/bars looking for any kind of hook ups with Trent repeatedly assuring them “We are so money” it is established early on during a disasterous trip to Las Vegas that these men are not quite the key players they make themselves out to be!

The ordinary aspect of these people in Swingers is the element that works best and as we see the men bicker over playing video game ice hockey, their rubbish cars and eating in various dive diners makes for some of the funniest moments of the film and with Trent’s continuous theories on getting Mike laid are the kind we been overhearing for years. Along with some great Reservoir Dogs parodies, this makes for one of the most entrancing comedies of the 1990’s

Mike is a man who is truly lost in life and still pines for his former ex but is unable to move on from her as well! He forms the centre of the story and his pains throughout can be related by many single males and despite being told to ‘wait a week’ before calling a girl back- Mike’s repeated and desperate voicemails to Brooke Langton will make most of us wince for hours afterwards! But his friends are both a blessing and a curse on his happiness with Trent’s bad advice and Sue’s wannabe gangster mentality (which leads to a hell raising clash with a street gang). But all the while we yearn for him to turn things around!

This movie also provide a spring board for the careers of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Ron Livingstone who are each equally excellent their respective roles. Vaughn brings great charisma to the part of Trent and his boundless energy and excitement makes for a great character who we would want to be our wing man! Jon Favreau is very authentic and touching as Mike and rings in a turn which establishes what a good talent he can when not behind the lens of a camera. Also look out for an early role for Heather Graham whose brief appearance makes the biggest waves!

Only five years after making this movie, Doug Liman would go on to kick start a movie franchise with the Bourne Identity, Vaughan has gone onto be one of the big names of gross out comedy and Jon Favreau had gone to direct the adventures of Tony Stark in Iron Man! Their success is highly deserved as Swingers is one of the funniest and real movies you will ever witness and if you ever needed a pick up film, then here it is! Congratulations Mike- you finally made it!

2012: A Year in Review

2012: A YEAR IN REVIEW

By Alex Watson

It has been an interesting year for film, and we have seen all kinds such as Tom Cruise belting out Bon Jovi in Rock of Ages and climb the Burj Khalifa single handed in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. We’ve also been witness to a magnificent viral campaign for Prometheus where the result didn’t properly match the hopes for Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien Universe and we’ve also delved into dark territory in Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss. There was a sad end of one saga in Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and the triumphant beginning of another in Avengers Assemble. But overall there has been some magnificent viewing in 2012, here is my end of year review.

 

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2012

1.   Argo (USA/Dir: Ben Affleck): This year the former Bennifer truly shed his past and delivered us the most exciting and nerve jangling thriller of the year. Set against the backdrop of hostile 1979 Iran, this gave us the story of one man and his bold idea to make a fake movie so real, it would save the lives of six others. Thanks to Affleck’s stunning direction we had a movie with a heart and determined soul!
2.  The Raid (ID/Dir: Gareth Evans) The combination of Welsh director Gareth Evans and Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais gave us the most entertaining and pure thrilling action film of the year. When a team of cops in Jakarta become trapped in a drug lord controlled tower block, they discover all 30 floors are filled with blood thirsty killers, the adrenalin rush goes into overdrive and this never relents. We have a fascinating new pairing on our hands.
3.    Sightseers (UK/Dir: Ben Wheatley): Up and coming British director Ben Wheatley gives us the most raw and funny picture this year and through the brilliant naturalistic performances of star Steve Oram and Alice Lowe we were given the British equivalent of Badlands, just remember who you tick off when visit your next campsite- it can be fatal!
4.   The Imposter (USA/France Dir: Bart Layton): This film was 2012 most shocking documentary and we were given the story of a French con man who out of desperation pretended to be the missing teenager of an American family and was readily accepted! Watch it and let your jaw hang loose while this unbelievable tale is played out!
5.  Shame (UK/Dir: Steve McQueen): The first film ever reviewed on Closer to the Edge was also the most explicit and heartbreaking of the year. With great performances by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, director Steve McQueen gave us a powerful example of  a sex addict who is struggling with his compulsions and gradually his perfect world is coming apart.
6.  Silver Linings Playbook (USA/Dir: David O Russell); Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper both give charming performances in one of 2012 most offbeat comedies. David O Russell skilfully masterminds the theme of mental illness and gives us a brutally funny and also heart warming tale of two troubled folks who find love in the strangest possible circumstance!
7. 7.       Skyfall (UK/USA Dir: Sam Mendes): Of all the blockbuster’s filmed this year, Daniel Craig’s return as 007 was the most entertaining of them all and gave us some the year’s best action set pieces (including a thrilling opening ride through Istanbul). But of all the recent Bond film this one had the most emotionally driven core and we got to see Bond at the crossroads of life. With a great Baddie turn from Javier Bardem, this made for compulsive viewing.
8. Rust & Bone (FR/Dir: Jacques Audiard): One of the year’s top foreign films boasted a stunning central turn from Marion Cotillard as a woman whose live is changed forever and find solace in the most unlikely man possible. With top support from Matthias Schoenaerts and Jacques Audiard’s brilliant directing, we are given one of the years strongest films and contains a passionate love theme that pulls our heart strings hard.
9. Looper (USA/Dir: Rian Johnson): The hype about Rian Johnson’s follow up to Brick was one that was truly worth it, because the man has produced the most intelligent and thought provoking sci-film of this decade so far, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis excel as the junior and senior versions of the same man who are both trying to atone for past and future mistakes they have made. This will require numerous viewings to understand its concept and they will all be worth it because this one of cleverest films your likely to find.
10. The Master (USA/ Dir: P.T Anderson): After a long wait, PT Anderson finally made his return to the screen and along with him so did Joaquin Phoenix- and it was worth the wait! Anderson brings us one of the most stunning visual films of 2012 about a disturbed man trying to find his way, and ultimately falling into the wrong crowded. With superb performances by Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, it was a welcome return for Anderson!

BEST OF THE REST

• The Dark Knight Rises (USA/UK Dir: Christopher Nolan) The finale of Chris Nolan’s Batman saga was a truly worth one and featured Christian Bale at his very best and also gave him a tough test in Tom Hardy’s hard as nails villain Bane. The thrilling battle of Gotham finale presented us a blood pumping last act! I wish the best of luck for the next man who is brave enough to reboot this series!
• Marley (UK Dir: Kevin MacDonald): A fascinating view of the life of one of music’s best loved stars, Bob Marley. Your knowledge of the man is regardless because we are given a brilliant account of his hard up bringing in Kingston, Jamaica and his rapid rise to top of music. If you’re not singing ‘No woman, No Cry’ by the end credits then hang your head in shame!
• Avenger’s Assemble (USA/ Dir: Joss Whedon): Another of the yea’rs most entertaining films and a pure fanboy’s delight as Marvel’s finest came to together to stop the tyrannical evil of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo among others made an awesome team- come back soon fellas!
• The Hunger Games (USA /Dir: Gary Ross): Jennifer Lawrence shines in the Gary Ross’ adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ beloved children’s novel. Be warned- Twilight this film isn’t and the theme of a society desensitized to violence as kids from different districts fight for survival is as shocking as it is entertaining. This is probably the closest we’ll get to a western Battle Royale.
• Anna Karenina (UK / Dir: Joe Wright): The adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s 864 page novel could have been one of years hardest viewings. But instead we are given a visual stunning and heart rendering film, with a star turn from Keira Knightley as the doomed Anna as she sets tongues wagging in Imperial Russia as her sordid affair with Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Vronsky plays out.

 

MALE STAR OF THE YEAR- TOM HARDY: This year the British actor took centre stage and delivered us a series of memorable turns in This Means War, Lawless and became Bruce Wayne’s biggest problem in The Dark Knight Rises. With his roughish charm, Hardy is an actor of multiple talents and has a presence of screen that is undeniable, it would seem we have a new star in waiting.

FEMALE STAR OF THE YEAR-JENNIFER LAWRENCE: With her stunning and tough performance in The Hunger Games and her bizarre yet endearing turn in Silver Linings Playbook are evidence enough that this woman is the most exciting young female talent in film today and this year she has stolen our hearts. No doubt the awards season will see her name mentioned numerous times and in future this will be a name to get used because Lawrence is going to be a woman to beat!

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR- GARETH EVANS (THE RAID): The Welshman grabbed our attention for all the right reasons with his breathtaking execution of Indonesian film The Raid and his skilful handling of proceedings gave us one of martial arts’ future classics. His next film can’t come soon enough and you have to wonder what him and star Iko Uwais are capable of next?

Scene of the Year- Stephanie Connects with her Killer Whale (Rust & Bone): The simplest yet heart rendering moment of 2012 came as Marion Cotillard gestured to an orca whale. Action here spoke loudest of all and the longing for Stephanie to return to her former life broke our hearts in two!

Place Your Bets: Jackpot Review

Jackpot

Director: Magnus Martens

By Alex Watson

Earlier this year I gave a review of the adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s slick thriller, Headhunters; a film that gave us a deception of the ultimate price of maintaining the perfect life. This week we turn to Norweigen writer’s second outing in cinema with Jackpot. Here expect the gloss of Headhunters to vanish swiftly as we are dragged into the Scandinavian underworld. Expect violence, double crossing and extreme psychopaths! Oh and I forget to mention Christmas is around the corner too!

Sat in a Norwegian police station, Oscar (Kyrre Hellum) has to explain to a disgusted officer how he has ended up as the sole survivor in a brutal shootout in a Swedish strip club! Working as a foreman in a factory that employs mainly ex cons, Oscar had gone in with criminals Billy (Arthur Berning) and Thor (Mads Ousdal) on a soccer bet to win big bucks. But upon claiming their winnings a series of unfortunate events will unfold for the trio leading a bloody resolution!

Jackpot is a very unique film in its own right, its blend of shock humour continually surprises us throughout. In some ways with its scenario of the hapless idiot who stumbles across big money and the grizzly violence that ensues (a wood chipper scene thrown in for good measure) this could almost be the Norwegian version of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. But in other ways it is like the flipside of Headhunters- but here we are thrown into a far seedier place where friendships come second to a bag of cash.

The opening scene sets the gruesome tone for the film. Four happy-go-lucky (and also very drunk) young men enter a strip club and are immediately blown to pieces by gun fire! This one moment sets off the chain events for luckless Oscar and is guaranteed to make you sit up and pay attention!

When the violence does arrive it both appals us and makes us laugh out loud. If you thought some of the violence in Headhunters was hardcore- then you haven’t seen anything yet! The villains in this piece like to get messy, in particular when they decide to dismember their dead friends corpse in the middle of Oscar’s living room and then have a furious debate about whether to slice him at the neck or the stomach? Claret is imminent here and expect it by the bucketful!

But the principle strength of Jackpot is in the continually twists and turns given to us by director Martens. We learn from a very early stage that Oscar is a very un-reliable narrator and that when a plausible scenario is played out to us that we must completely disregard everything we have seen. Throughout the film this effect keeps the audience hooked because we begin to wonder if this apparently law abiding citizen is really all he seems.

As the incident prone Oscar, Kyrre Hellum gives a great performance. His sheer humanity makes us initially care for Oscar and we hope that we will be found innocent. But as Jackpot goes on, Hellum gives his character an element of mystery to him. Because of this his true story remains in question until the final shot!

As his friend Thor, Mads Ousdal is also very engaging. Thor is a very aloof man who changes alliances like he changes his shirt, very soon Oscar is in trouble as a result! Arthur Berning also terrifies and charms us as recently paroled mad man Billy, a kid who can go from zero to crazy in the touch of a button. His un-predictability gives some of Jackpot’s most chest tightening moments!

It seems that Jo Nesbo’s thrillers are the new hot thing for European cinema at the moment and it doesn’t seem surprising as he is a writer capable of churning out solid stories. But it isn’t him that we extend our gratitude to here, it is the brilliant combination of Martens and Herrum that make this movie so memorable.

Jackpot is odds on to be one of the funniest foreign films from this year and I hope it can make cult status because with its stunning blend of laughs through violence it certainly deserves it! For a very different kind of viewing experience- check this out now. But always think before you place a bet, because you never know what consequences it can have!

When Two Tribes Go to War: The Untouchables Review

Classic from the Vault

The Untouchables (1987)

Director: Brian De Palma

By Alex Watson

These day’s people tend to snigger when they hear about a film starring Kevin Costner, after a golden start to his career things tailed off after his mega flop film Waterworld and his equally blasted adaptation of David Bein’s novel The Postman. But everyone tends to forget what a great presence he is on our screens and what charisma and heart he is able to bring to a character. There is no better time than to re-visit what is arguably his finest hour in Brian De Palma’s classic, The Untouchables.

Set in Chicago in the 1930’s the city is at the height of prohibition and gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro) runs the city with absolute power. To toughen up the law the US Treasury appoints Special Agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) to bring change to the city and to expel corruption within the Police Force. Initially his efforts are a failure due to cops being bribed and several busts going wrong as a result! But then Ness comes across Jim Malone (Sean Connery), an incorruptible Irish ‘beat cop’ and together they form a small band of similar officers including rookie George Stone (Andy Garcia) and accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) and together will bring down Capone!

The band of brother’s feel of The Untouchables is what truly gives it heart, all the way through they grow as a team and their tactics grow more refined. But more than anything we know they will always watch out for one another, no matter what the cost. Early on we see that Eliot Ness has been given a thankless job within the department. Cops change their loyalty like they change their clothes, and in short he cannot change Chicago.

After the introduction of Jim Malone Ness’ character beings to grow. Malone through his old school methods teaches Ness ‘The Chicago Way’, ” You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the ‘Chicago’ way! And that’s how you get Capone.”

Soon the four are able to strike fear into gangland as they hide the mob’s secret hideouts. As their notoriety increases, they come under Capone’s ever watching eye and very soon he has dispatched his creepy enforcer Frank Nitti (Billy Drago) to send a powerful message!

But also in The Untouchables there are moments that remind us just how brutal Capone’s reign, in one scene he casually walks around a dinner table holding a baseball bat talking how it is his favourite team game. Moments later he shockingly beats a fellow gang member to a bloody pulp in full view everyone. The message is clear to all- anyone that snitches won’t live to tell the tale! But as the four men get closer to Capone, their methods begin to match his.

One notable example happens when the men execute a daring raid on a whiskey deal at the Canadian border. When a mafia man refuses to talk and scoffs at their efforts, Malone grabs his dead associate and pretends to threaten into talking. To finally scare the man into submission, Malone blows a hole in the dead man’s head! This frightens the man into talking and by matching their enemy, they get the result they need!

Kevin Costner gives a fine performance as Ness. Although very bookish at the beginning, Costner as the film progress finds room to make Ness more assertive. His final showdown with Billy Drago gives us one of the coldest deaths in movie history!  But The Untouchables belongs to Sean Connery’s great turn as Malone. His grizzled veteran is as much teacher as he is father figure for Ness, Connery is the force that pushes the film into greater territory and for this he was rewarded with his only Oscar! Although Robert De Niro only features briefly as Capone, his presence is still a terrifying one. Capone has the city in his pocket and there is nothing he won’t do to keep himself in power!

For proof that there is life left in Costner then please check this out. De Palma’s film will keep you gripped from the very starts and features one of the greatest shootout sequences ever filmed! Chicago is a city in crisis and it needs a band of heroes. With Costner and Connery on the job- results are assured!

Suspense is a Killer: Review of The Wages of Fear

Classic from the Vault

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Director: Henri Georges Clouzot

By Alex Watson

European cinema is owed a lot more credit from the mainstream. So often their films are bench mark for either re-makes or inspirational styles of film making. But so often when the story is switched across for a new audience, the magic that was there is somehow lost in translation! Hollywood has several times to avoid this by hiring the original director to oversee its new vision. For instance Dutch director George Sluzier, who butchered the US adaptation of his classic thriller The Vanishing. More than anything though, European cinema has always been able to create a film where the suspense keeps us on edge! Never has there been a more heart stopping thriller than Henri Georges Clouzot’s French masterpiece The Wages of Fear.

The story is set in an un-named South American country where four European men Mario (Yves Montand), Jo (Charles Vanel), Bimba (Peter Van Eyck) and Luigi (Folco Lulli) are stranded in a small, back water town. American oil company, Standard Oil provides the main source of employment for the town, but the men are all unable to get work and they cannot get out! Hope comes when a dangerous job arises. The men are offered $2000 to drive two large trucks of Nitro-glycerine 300 miles to a fire at an oil field. Due to the poor road conditions and equipment and the un-predictable nature of Nitro-glycerine, this job is considered too dangerous for union trucker drivers!  The men willingly take the job, but along the way they begin to realize that the rickety roads will give a dangerous trip ahead!

The focal point of the movie is the scenes when the men are behind the wheel, every kink in the road and each steep curve have the audience squirming throughout! Because we know that they are essentially driving a bomb which could explode at any second! Clouzot and cinematographer Armand Thirard build the suspense up to claustrophobic levels, keeping the action mainly within in the tight cockpits. The set pieces in The Wages of Fear rank among the greatest of Cinema. One chest tightening moment particularly stands out when Montand and Vanel have to back up against an unstable wood platform to get around a hair pin bend. As the heavy truck goes back the rotten wood begins to break and very soon the truck is hanging on the edge of a cliff! Make to have a spare heart ready because your old one will explode from the tension!

Clouzot takes his time in setting up the action at the beginning of The Wages of Fear, setting the first half mainly within the town and documenting the daily struggles of the four men. Through this we form an attachment to them and we know they are desperate people making the most of a bad situation. The Wages of Fear is also Clouzot own statement on capitalism and greed, and asks the question of what price we put on our lives! Standard Oil is the villain of the piece because they are willing to pay careless men to drive to their deaths! This is demonstrated when the American boss says to them that because they are because they are not union, they were won’t be any question if anything goes wrong!

Yves Montand provides an engaging presence in The Wages of Fear, his character Mario is the one we are most drawn to. He is very handsome, very cunning but also has an arrogance to him that will lead him down some difficult paths. A true icon of French cinema, this was Montand’s first dramatic role and set the standard for his later career! Charles Vanel is equally impressive as ageing gangster Jo, at first Vanel charms them with his promise of money and power, but as the story progresses we realize that the man might not be as brave as he claims!

This movie was later re-made in 1978 by The Exorcist director, William Friedkin as a film called Sorcerer, although its set pieces were impressive, the film lack the heart of the original and was poorly received. This was yet another example of a film failing to make the move across! The Wages of Fear is a true classic of European cinema and one of the most suspenseful films ever made. Clouzot after this made his equally classic Les Diaboliques, so for a good place to beginning your European experience, start here. Check where your sit, because it’s possible you might fall off!

The Approaching Curve: Review of The Sweet Hereafter

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The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

Director: Atom Egoyan

By Alex Watson

Normally if you asked to name a film by director Atom Egoyan then you would probably give that person a blank stare. The Egyptian/Canadian director is an acclaimed artist who has refreshingly stayed away from the mainstream. Egoyan has an eye for expressing complex human emotions and bringing their feelings across. His previous efforts Exotica and Felicia’s Journey demonstrated such feelings as loss, trauma and individuals seeking comfort. All these themes were expressed in his Canadian gem The Sweet Hereafter.

The Sweet Hereafter tells the story of the small town in Canada which has been affected by a fatal school bus crash that has claimed the lives of nearly all the town’s children. The accident has attracted lawyer Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm) who has metaphorically lost his daughter Zoe to a heroin addiction and Aids. Mitchell is determined to prove that the crash was anything but an accident and is looking to give the town’s anger a voice. Each of the film’s characters have been affected by the result of the loss of their children, particularly young teenager Nicole (Sarah Polly) who has been paralysed and is traumatised from the loss of her legs, which has ended her music career and ends her ‘special relationship’ with her father.

One of the main themes running through The Sweet Hereafter is trauma. Through Egoyan, we see the town’s pain in full force. Entire families move away, parents turn to alcoholism, while others seeking solace in affairs with others. The trauma of truth is also predominant, families are un-willing to talk about that fateful day and the memories will forever haunt. In particular, Billy Ansel (Bruce Greenwood), who lost his children in the accident. He knows the lawsuit won’t bring him happiness, and he wants to move forward with his life.  Here, he is the voice of reason for the town and the sole opposition to greed.

Throughout the film there is no single voice that the audience is drawn to but several. The Sweet Hereafter moves from narrator to narrator and the story unfolds gradually. By doing this Egoyan prevents the viewer from getting too close to any particular character. The story is told mainly through flashback and it is for the audience to make their own interpretation of events. This effect gives the story a dream like quality and ensures that the audience experiences the full range of emotions in the town, especially the exploitation of greed. Mitchell Stephens, although determined to give their anger a voice, also brings the threat of greediness by promising them a big cash settlement! As the film unfolds greed becomes an important emotion as many of the bereaved parents seek financial compensation, but for what reasons do they turn to it? Are some doing it because they feel that money will quash their anger and solve their problems? Or are they doing it to gain some attention. The repeated telling of The Pied Piper by Nicole emphasises this notion and spells the outcome for the town if they continue!

The performances in The Sweet Hereafter are an unknown quality, Ian Holm gives one of his greatest performances as jaded lawyer Mitchell Stephens. We feel his connection to the case as he has more-or-less lost his own daughter. Holm’s world weariness fits the role perfectly as Stephen’s strive to help everyone involved. Sarah Polley is heart breaking as Nicole, a victim in more ways than one; she has not only lost her entire future and friends. But she is also involved in an incestuous relationship with her father. Through Polley’s engaging presence, we feel the death or her dreams and Nicole’s unwillingness to accept the life that is left for her.  She is the lame child in the Pied Piper, left behind while the others are gone.

It is disappointing that the cinema of Egoyan is largely unknown. His use of emotion is beautifully articulated. In his films Egoyan shows us resolution can be both brutal and beautiful at the same time. The characters here are fully justified in their pain and loss, but what set them apart is that they are willing to sell out their trauma in order gain riches and be in the spotlight.  In The Sweet Hereafter he makes ourselves ask some serious question about how close we hold the traumatic events our lives. If you wish to explore Atom Egoyan, this will make the perfect start!

Black Gold: There Will Be Blood Review

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There Will Be Blood (2007)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

By Alex Watson

The films of P.T Anderson are among the most celebrated of modern cinema. From the daring Boogie Nights, to the twisty story-line of Magnolia, to the under-rated Punch, Drunk, Love he has always found new ways to draw the viewers in. When it was announced that he would be undertaking a loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel Oil, many wondered where he would take it. What we got was one of the most beautiful, and striking films of the new millennium, his film, There Will Be Blood.

Set in the oil boom era of the 1920’s, the story features a silver prospector- turned- oil baron, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) who continually seeks to buy up drilling land. He is successful, but in the industry is still a minor presence. His luck turns however, when he is approached by Paul Sunday (Paul Dano), to buy information about a large stretch of land in a town called Little Boston. Unknown to the owners there is an ocean of oil underneath! Plainview and his adopted son H.W (Dillon Freasier) travel to Little Boston to swindle the land from the Sunday family. While there, he comes into contact with Eli Sunday (Also Paul Dano), an ambitious preacher and faith healer. Soon a battle of wills ensures as each man fights his own battle for land!

There Will Be Blood is a modern, dark American tail. As Plainview breaks away the earth to make way for his next fortune, we feel that the towns money is being drained dry. Anderson paints a very bleak picture of the old times. In his film we see an America which is owned by Capitalist culture, where each man fought his own territorial battle. Anderson shows this by the battle between Plainview and Eli. There is also a very alpha male feel to the story line. Both main characters feel threatened at the presence of another and throughout the film both men work to squash the power the other has.

The main theme of the movie is corruption. In There Will Be Blood both Plainview and Sunday represent both capitalist and religious corruption. Plainview on the surface plays a well meaning fellow. In his interactions with others, he presents himself as a family businessman, and compels to their nature. Soon they are manipulated ruthlessly! The man is truly, rotten to the core and will step over anyone in order to obtain the land he desires!  Eli’s religious corruption is demonstrated in his speeches to his church. Through these, we observe his shrieking and fiery type of faith and feel his strong hold over them. Eli bullies his flock in accepting his seemingly, unquestionable faith. His desire for a better life is driven by greed, not the faith that he preaches. While Plainview is forthcoming in his greed, Eli hides behind a wall of hypocrisy and is seems unable to accept there is another presence that may make his flock stray!

In this piece, the real driving force is a stunning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis. The man is one of this centuries true greats, and is one of modern cinema’s most memorable turns.  Plainview holds the screen with such force that it is impossible to take our eyes off him! It’s a chilling portrait of a dangerous man, and we learn there is no depth he will sink to. His characterisation is fascinating; does Plainview truly lack any feeling towards others? Or is it all strictly business?

Paul Dano also rings in a commanding supporting role. Eli is a complex character, a man who appears devoted to his cause but in reality seeks the same riches as Plainview. At moments he is a frightening presence, but he is even more fascinating in his quieter moments. In these moments it seems as if Eli is working to win Plainview’s soul! The final scene between Dano and Day Lewis’ is a legend of cinema as the tensions all boil into a climatic showdown! It also brought us the oft quoted line “I… DRINK YOUR…. MILSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP!”

Paul Thomas Anderson proves that he is still one of the most skilled directors of our time. Although his work is infrequent, we always anticipate it highly. There Will Be Blood does nothing to dent our expectations, and we are rewarded with a fascinating piece of American cinema! I longingly await his next film and I can only hope it brings us a performance as strong as Day Lewis’!