Powerful storytelling. There is something in the way that DDL acts, wonderfully and powerfully so – that I have to pause the movie every so often to get a breath of fresh air. His character, Daniel Plainview, is a driven, ruthless, awful, hateful man. An animal, verily. There are some scenes that are so effectively acted that one forgets it is a movie, and is fooled into thinking that this is clear insight into the challenges that Plainview has overcome using all the tools at his disposal. Watch this movie. Then watch it again.

I had the hardest time staying awake through this movie… and in the end, I just kind of stared at the TV and said “THAT took TWO AND A HALF HOURS??”

The acting was phenomenal, the music was fantastic, I think it was just a little slow for my taste. And I wasn’t terribly interested in the story. Not sure. But it made me sleepy.

i couldn’t even finish watching this movie. kept falling asleep.

Wow. Good one. It reminded me soooo much of Stanley Kubrick at times. Was it the way it was filmed? The pacing? The often odd music? D.D. Lewis… what is there to say? Brilliant acting. Deserving of his Oscar. It’s a dark film, so don’t get too excited to see it. Slow going in places. Just savor the artistry, which is there in abundance.

This film disappointed me. Daniel Day Lewis owns this film, by supreme acting. The cinematography was excellent, as was the dialogue, not to mention the great original score by Johnny Greenwood; direction was great as was the epic storytelling. Thing is, this film isn’t my cup of tea. I think bits of it was lost in the process, at least for me. It’s like the kind of jazz I don’t like; while I appreciate the fact that others may enjoy it, it’s definitely not for me. Didn’t help that members of the church congregation all looked like they played in The Arcade Fire, either! All in all, the film was good, but if I would have reigned over it, I’d have cut it a lot tighter.

I adored it: in fact, it blew my mind! I found it utterly original, a tad bonkers, and completely mesmerising … my head was spinning afterwards!! As soon as I watched it, I wanted to see it again. The structure, and the approach, the depth, the score, the photography, the mood — and of course Day-Lewis; he’s on-screen pretty much for the full 2 hours 45 minutes, and while the performance occasionally became baroque, I just didn’t care: you simply could not take your eyes off him. Spellbinding stuff.

The movie explores a national loss of innocence: the black heart of capitalism – here perfectly represented by the oil industry – rotting the soul of America. The secondary target was that religion, as opium-of-the-people sham – and in its own way as greedy as the oilmen. Needless to say, I could hardly be happier: both capitalistic greed and religion taken to task, perfect! :-)

In fact, I reckon that it’s this deliberate debunking of certain American fundamentals, and America’s founding myth, as opposed to its self-consciously cinéastic approach that scuppered its Oscar bid. I’m a big fan of the Coen Brothers, and I loved No Country… but There Will Be Blood is a true original, and head-and-shoulders the best movie I’ve seen in years.