Cinecity Top 10 Poll – 2007 – There Will Be Blood

With the festival looming, CINECITY has announced it build up campaign, and what kind of movie fan Brightonian would I be if I didn’t get involved. But what is it all about? Read on…

CineCity 2012, Brighton Film Festival is approaching, and from 15th November to 2nd December the City will be taken over by films fans attending events in 10 venues including the ever brilliant Duke of York’s Picturehouse. This yearn is a special one as it is the 10th edition. To help with the build up, the boffins behind the festival have asked us fans to come up with our TOP 10 FILMS OF THE LAST 10 YEARS. I have decided to run a series of 10 posts with a feature on my favorite film from the chosen year.

But what would you choose? Why not get involved yourself. All you have to do is tweet, facebook message, or blog your top 10 films of the last 10 years and include the hashtag

The top films will be compiled and the results will be announced during the festival, but do not panic I will report back here to announce the winners to those of your overseas.

But remember to see your fave, get involved!!

There Will Be Blood (2007)

There Will Be Blood from Director Paul Thomas Anderson is loosely based on the 1927 novel ‘Oil!’ from satirist Upton Sinclair. The film tells the tale of Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day Lewis, an upstart Oil-man who uses his charm and guile to cheat property from gullible land owners. With his adopted son by his side, H.W. he brazenly flaunts his humble roots as a ‘Family’ businessman and becomes a successful oil baron. However, when reaching a small town in California, Little Boston, Plainview meets an equally manipulative young minister, Eli Sunday played by Paul Dano. After Eli demands that Plainview donates a hefty cash settlement to his congregation, the minister attempts to use Plainview’s presence in Little Boston to promote his own church and personal interests. When Plainview outright refuses, Eli take this conflict to a very personal level and becomes a reflection of Daniels black heart as well as a force of retribution.

Anderson’s slow-burning story ignites his vision of the early 1900s and delivers a tale of morality with more than its fair share of bleak issues. The townsfolk of Little Boston are all but pawns in the increasingly tense battle of Anderson’s two villains. Each of the two leads is the epitome of greed, lust and corruption. Anderson is famous for making films that dissect the struggles of well intentioned characters, but with There Will Be Blood we have a completely different animal. I locking Plainview and Sunday in this stag fight Anderson manages to expose the darkest depths of human nature and highlights the lengths these men will go to achieve their goals. The screenplay is fantastic and never dips its toe into the politics or troubles of the modern oil industry, but instead makes the case that any business blessed with obscene wealth and corruption will rob its patrons blind.

The performances from both Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano are breathtaking. They go head to head and toe to toe with powerhouse performances that make the screen pulse and vibrate with tension. Each actor effectively portray a man who is completely enraged by the other mans very existence. Day Lewis is most definitely one of the greatest living actors working in Hollywood and his almost laughable breakdown into madness will haunt me forever.

There Will Be Blood is a bold film in that it shies away from the standard 3 act philosophy of film making. It is multi layered and is more akin to reading a book than it is to watching a film. The opening ‘chapter’ of the film is basically silent, the first words do not actually come until around 20 mins into the film when Plainview introduces himself to a group of landowners. By this time though we are already familiar with the REAL Plainview.

The film is a perfect and compelling study of corruption and greed. It is a beautifully orchestrated musical piece with Anderson’s direction, Day Lewis’ and Dano’s performances, gorgeous cinematography from Robert Elswitt and an unsettling score from Johnny Greenwood that all work together in perfect harmony.

All in all this is a film that was an easy pick for my top film of 2007, and it is one I revisit often.

Our previous instalments can be found here -

2002 - Talk to Her

2003 – Mystic River

2004 – Sideways

2005 – Walk The Line

2006 – Pans Labyrinth

CINECITY BRIGHTON FILM FESTIVAL WILL RUN FROM 15TH NOVEMBER TO 2ND DECEMBER 2012 FOR MORE INFO VISIT THEHOMEPAGE HERE