There Will Be Daniel Day-Lewis

I saw There Will Be Blood. My prediction is that this movie doesn't win the Oscar because among other things, it is the full-on DDL is the Mack Daddy show. I know everyone goes on about how DDL disappears into his character, blah, blah, blah--but it is so true. From his wiry hard-scrabble frame to his speech (which is a deep, rich cross between Obi Wan Kenobi and the Pepperidge Farm guy), you are transported to an era you read about in history class. Unfortunately, most of the other characters seem anachronistic in comparison when they open their mouths in the same scene with DDL. Though the sweet-faced young boy, Dillion Freasier, who plays his son is a standout as the perfect complement to DDL's confident and ker-razy oil man.

So my money is on DDL to win best Actor at the Oscars and at the SAG awards (though I think there's a chance it'll be Viggo Mortensen at the SAG awards). You know what else There Will Be Blood is NOT going to win awards for? That score. Yes, I know, the guy from Radiohead did it. But with few exception, that music was like taking some wild feral animals, getting them insane and angry by withholding food and water and poking them constantly with a stick and then forcing them to play broken instruments. While wearing mittens. The music definitely enriched the ambient tension but often I felt it was cranked to 11 unnecessarily and proved more grating than dramatic.

The movie is still marinating in my head though I can definitely say I enjoyed it and the running time of over 2 and half hours did not leave me checking my watch. And you can put me in the group that loved DDL's final line.

Did anybody else see it? Would love to hear what you think--