There Will Be Blood (2007)

Some elements of There Will Be Blood show their age, but the core of it — capitalism and greed, the epic sweep — hasn't diminished at all. Films this good age better than almost anything else.

Everyone told me to watch There Will Be Blood for years. Finally did and instantly understood why. Jonny Greenwood's discordant score is immediately apparent. Now I'm recommending it just as loudly to everyone else.

There Will Be Blood deals with capitalism and greed in a way that's genuinely uncomfortable at times. But that discomfort is the point. Paul Thomas Anderson never lets you look away, and the film is better for it.

Every choice in There Will Be Blood feels deliberate. The framing, the pacing, the I drink your milkshake scene — Paul Thomas Anderson is operating at a level most filmmakers never reach. It's the kind of film you study rather than just watch.

There Will Be Blood commits to a conclusion that not everyone will appreciate. I found it perfectly right — it refuses easy comfort. If you want tidy resolution you may be frustrated. If you want truth, it delivers.

There Will Be Blood is technically accomplished and I understand its place in film history. But it left me cold. The religion as power element felt mechanical and I never connected emotionally. Maybe I'll try again someday.

I didn't expect There Will Be Blood to affect me so deeply. The way Paul Thomas Anderson handles religion as power is unlike anything I'd seen before. I came out of it looking at the world differently.

I've seen There Will Be Blood multiple times now and it just keeps getting better. Daniel Day-Lewis's volcanic performance is something rarely matched in cinema. If you haven't watched it yet, clear your evening.

The music in There Will Be Blood is so deeply married to the images that you almost can't separate them. It stays in your head days later and when you hear it again the emotions return immediately.

Whatever you think of the story, There Will Be Blood is one of the most visually extraordinary films ever shot. There are frames here that belong in a gallery. Worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.