There Will Be Blood (revisited)

We’re about to get back to watching these movies, so I thought now would be a good time to finish up a post I started writing ages ago.

After writing my scathing review of There Will Be Blood, I thought it might be a good idea to get a second opinion from someone who studies movies professionally, just in case I didn’t “get” the movie. After all, I railed on the movie for cinematography when it won the Oscar for “Best Achievement in Cinematography” in 2008. So I spoke to Dr. Kendrick (mentioned in my review of The Killing), and apparently everything I hated about the movie is very enjoyable to some people. I complained about the fact that the cinematography was comprised primarily of visually appealing shots that lacked any secondary purpose. As it turns out, this is something of an homage to European art films, which focus much more heavily on visual aesthetics than story. What I saw as mind-numbingly slow pacing was supposed to create tension, enhanced by the bizarre soundtrack. I suppose if you were actually attached to any of the characters, you might have felt it.

Long story short, I still hate the movie, but there are people out there who liked it, so while the majority of my previous review stands, I will retract the part urging people not to see the film. You might like it. Maybe.