By Jacob Cameron

“I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.”

While not the most famous quote from 2007’s There Will Be Blood, it fits the main character perfectly. This is a film that, from the very beginning, was lauded as a masterpiece. Even considering Paul Thomas Anderson’s near-spotless career. While picking PTA’s best film can be very tricky, this is certainly in the conversation.

The film, based on the book Oil! by Upton Sinclair tells the story of Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Plainview goes from mining for silver to mining black gold. He becomes an oil driller and becomes vastly wealthy. Over the course of the film, Plainview’s ruthless ambition and aggression rots his soul. And alienates friend and foe alike.

The performance of Daniel Day-Lewis has received more than enough praise; he won his first of two Oscars for this role. An interesting dynamic that Lewis brings to the role is just how callous he is to everyone. Daniel Plainview does not see people; he only sees dollar signs. From buying land for pennies on the dollar by flaunting his status as a family man. To abandoning his son when he loses his hearing in an accident on an oil rig. He is a frequent user of the low road.

While Daniel Plainview is a bad person who has done bad things, there are people surrounding him that make even more questionable decisions. Take Eli Sunday as an example; played by Paul Dano. He enters a deal with Plainview to drill on the land in the town of Little Boston. This deal is done under the guise of helping Sunday’s church. But it is through implication that he becomes just as wealthy as Plainview while covering himself under the cover of a preacher.

In a similar case, Plainview meets a man who claims to be his long lost brother, Henry. It is revealed that this man is an imposter after failing to remember a joke from childhood. While Daniel Plainview is a rotten human being, he is surrounded by those that are rotten in their own ways. The question is: is Plainview influencing these people, is it the other way around, or is it a combination of these two?

This might be a bold statement but this might be the most rewatchable of PTA’s films. Yes, even above the fantastic Boogie Nights. There is so much to unpack with this film that multiple watches are required and encouraged. And there is so much to enjoy this film far beyond the infamous “milkshake” scene. The acting, the cinematography, the score, and more.

Ultimately, as this film approaches its 20th anniversary, this one has not aged a day. Everything that you’ve heard, positively speaking, is true. And, now that Daniel Day-Lewis has broken his retirement, there is hope that him and PTA could collaborate once again after this and Phantom Thread.

5 stars