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Film Title: There Will Be Blood

 Best for ages: 17 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 2007

Rated: R (US) PG (CANADA)

SYNOPSIS

   Based on the novel "Oil" by Upton Sinclair, There Will Be Blood takes place during the early nineteen hundreds when the hunt for oil was a big deal among many men who were looking to get rich quick. Most men traveled to states like Texas, New Mexico and California to find their black gold. Some were successful like Daniel Plainview (Academy Award winner for best actor Daniel Day-Lewis) at finding it, and some were not.  Daniel has a real knack for finding oil, and over the coarse of this film we  follow that success in the oil business. One place in particular where Daniel finds his biggest hit ever in the center piece of this film and it's in a little town called  Little Boston. Daniel buys up all the land her can from the center of Little Boston all the way to the Pacific ocean. His plan is to build a pipeline to the ocean so her can sell the oil to a much larger company.  However Daniels greed and his morals as a man begin to take over his life.  He promises all his workers that he is a family man and that family is important, he even agrees to help a young preacher who's family agrees to sell their land to Daniel to give him money to help his church. But the more and more Daniel digs into his soul, the more and more he falls into a darker hole, where his life becomes a battle within himself. The film then takes a dark turn into the life of Daniel Plainview and how oil becomes the only thing he is interested in.

VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

   I'm going to be straight forward about There Will Be Blood, Yes the movie does have swearing, violence and some graphic content as well some moral issues that are bought to life. My thing is this; I don't think any kid under the age of sixteen will even be interested in this movie. If there is a girl or boy under the of sixteen that does get into this film, it will because they have an eye for cinema and are maybe interested in a film career, but that's a whole other story.

  Here are the facts about the content in this film that will concern parents should their child for some reason want to watch this film.  There Will Be Blood has some violence that is in the terms of slapping and fighting, and there is even a scene in which it's implied that some child might of be slapped around, one for not praying enough. There is also some deaths and killings in this film as well, ones that are pretty violent. we get a few people that do die while working on the oil rig, two men are killed by equipment falling into the well.  There is one graphic scene where they other workers pulling one man's body from the shaft. The body is shown in it's bloody detail.  There is also a scene where a man is shot in the head and killed as well as another man beat to death, which is probably the bloodiest scene of all.

   There is some swearing in the film, but not a lot there are a few curse words muttered by Daniel and some of his workers as well, and the lord's name is taken in view a few times as well. On another note the film does have a few tragic scenes one in which Daniel's son loses his hearing during an oil explosion, and later is sent off to a boarding house because Daniel no longer wishes to care for him. Eli the preacher also preaches very loud and talks a lot about demons being cast out of people. This may be a concern in the fact that God is used as a tool of fear in this film. There is also excessive drinking and smoking in this film as well.

   There Will Be Blood, does pose a lot of moral and social problems that are similar to what's going on in the United States today. Greedy oil companies, a bad economy and people working more hours and spending less time with their families. It's something that is very stressed in the film even though it takes place at beginning of the 20th Century and is almost a time piece in the fact that history sometimes repeats itself.  Some of these issues might cause some of your older children to ask questions, so I figured I point that out as well.

OVERALL VIEWS

   As a critic I can honestly say that there has not been a film like There Will Be Blood to come along and grab a hold of the cinematic world in a long time. Many compare it to the likes of Citizen Kane, which many film critics say is the best film ever made. I agree with that statement, as it is one of the best films cinematically to ever be produced.  The film in terms of style, shots used, acting and production value is out of this world.  It is a film that in my opinion should of won best picture at the Oscars, although the winner No Country for Old Men was also a masterpiece itself, There Will Be Blood is a film that is an entire cinematic masterpiece for the ages.

   Daniel Day-Lewis gives probably the best performance of his career since he won his first Oscar for My Left Foot in nineteen ninety. His performance in this film not only landed him his second Oscar and his first Golden Globe for best actor, but also a slew of other awards as well. One of the strongest elements this film has is it's great acting. Paul Thomas Anderson really did a great job directing this film, and my hat's off to him.

  There Will Be Blood is a film that is not for everyone, which it has all the elements that make a great movie I'm not sure it's a film for the average movie goer. People who really enjoy good cinema will love this film as well as people who really like a film with a good story. Many of my friends said that they thought this film was slow moving, I have to disagree with them as I though the ploy moved along at an even pace. Overall, Like I mentioned above this is more of a film for adults, and I don't think any kids are going to have the least bit interest in this movie. Overall, There Will Be Blood is a great movie for parents to sit back and watch together. It's a great piece of cinema.

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