Finally saw this last night, on one of the better screens available in the cinema too. Technically it was superb, I think it will take repeated viewings to even nitpick. It's great to watch Anderson grow as a filmmaker; I recently rewatched Magnolia and was blown away all over again by the sheer verve and energy he poured into it, but it will be interesting to rewatch Punch Drunk Love again to remind myself how he began to restrain himself.
In Daniel Plainview, Daniel Day-Lewis has found another fascinating character with which to sink his acting chops into and he succeeds in making him extremely memorable. What I particularly enjoyed was not knowing hwre this character was going or what he would do next, something you could say about the film as a whole really. His character was the focal point of the film and as such there was no overwhelming conflict to resolve, just this man and how he carried on his business with several incidents on the way that built, defined and underlined his character. The opening and close was great for this. The film opens on a vast , wide open country, then cuts to Plainview all alone in a dark pit below the surface, the scene brutally going from expansive to closed in dank. Compare this to the end, when we are treated to a quick tour of his opulant mansion only to finish with him basically alone in the basement, only now with his materialistic dreams fulfilled but with blood on his hands and no love to show for it.
Indeed this is a man who seems to destroy everyone around him in pursuit of his ambitions. He is charming and cordial at first, even seemingly generous, but as soon as anyone poses a threat or an obstacle they are removed. And when he has used all of their resources he moves on and couldn't care less for their plight. This is a man who, by his own admission, despises humanity and just wants to win. That Monopoly game board is just so apt.
But Anderson is not to be forgotten. He keeps the pace slow but never overlong. He and award-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit fill each shot with grand images and imagery and construct some dazzling set pieces (H.W's deafening standing out). I really hope he speeds up his turnaround time without sacrificing his quality, I mean if the old greats could then why can't those working today?
I just reminded myself something else about Plainview - he really didn't care about the boy he adopted. I mean, he didn't make any effort to learn sign language to communicate with him, there's a chance the poor boy was illiterate as he reads "Henry's" diary upside down and to all intents and purposes never even named the kid. Did I miss what H.W. stood for or is it just a couple of idle letters?
Overall, a truly magnificent film that promises many rewarding rewatches. I have to say that I prefer No Country For Old Men at this point because it was so much more immediately gripping even if it too didn't follow a convential story arc, but I'll have to see in a year which holds up better. 2007 truly was a brilliant year for American cinema, with those two, Jesse James, Zodiac and I'm Not There among others completely wowing me.