There Will Be Blood - Part Two
TNR Review: ‘There Will Be Blood’
There Will Be Blood is by far the most ambitious film Paul Thomas Anderson has yet attempted, spare in its vision yet rich with resonances. The score, by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, is eerie and evocative, frequently tiptoeing to the line separating music from noise–the kind of gamble Ennio Morricone might have undertaken had his spirit of experiment survived to this day. The cinematography, by Robert Elswit, is equally arresting, conjuring an infernal landscape for Anderson’s lost souls to wander. Many critics have understandably declared the film a masterpiece.
For my part, I have to append the qualifier “flawed” to that verdict. Anderson’s film is indeed an extraordinary one, yet it is one that runs aground in its final act and, especially, its final scene. A tale that has taken its time suddenly becomes rushed; crucial moral and psychological developments are abruptly elided; a director’s careful hand throws caution to the winds; and a masterful performance descends into frothing caricature. For the benefit of those who have not yet seen the film I will leave it at that; for those who have, a more detailed catalogue of my complaints is here. Suffice it to say that the conclusion to Anderson’s otherwise masterful picture is full of sound and fury, signifying that, for all his dizzying cinematic gifts, he hasn’t figured out how to end a film.
Though I agree with almost all of the review, I have to disagree with the spoiler-filled analysis of the final scene of the movie. (Minor spoilers ahead, though I will try to be vague.) The final scene serves a necessary role in the arc of the story. It is important to remember when watching that final scene that both of the characters involved are caricatures and have been for the entire movie. They are intended to be representative. Perhaps the conclusion is crude and unsubtle, but it shocks the audience in such a way that they are forced to re-examine the entire movie up to that point. Without that scene, the movie would have been an interesting character study of a completely evil man, but its political themes would not have resonated in the same way.
