BOTTOM LINE: An impressive work for those serious filmophiles who want their experience to last well beyond the 150 minutes of screen time. If Dostoyevsky had made a film, this would be it.

THE GOOD: This film is cinema at its most powerful and a real credit to Director Paul Thomas Anderson. I’ve not read the novel on which this film is based (Oil, by Upton Sinclair: 1927), but I would imagine its every bit as good, and that’s testimony to the quality of this production. The first scene immerses you in the rugged and dangerous life of a prospector, introducing you to the character Daniel Plainview, played brilliantly by Daniel Day-Lewis. In risking his life to find gold, Mr Plainview strikes oil and so the story of a driven, determined and ruthless man begins to unfold upon the screen. So potent is his ambition, he exhibits little emotion and appears untouched by human tragedy. When a miner is killed in the shaft beside him, he adopts the orphaned boy as his own, not out of duty, but as an opportunity to improve his business prospects. Mr Plainview and his (adopted) son, H.W. (Dillion Freasier) are soon very wealthy oil men drilling a lucrative new claim in California. The consistency of Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance should win him an Oscar. He appears in almost every scene of the film’s 150 minutes, intensely dominating the screen, imposing his will and drawing visceral emotion from us like oil from the ground. As single-minded as Mr Plainview is, he is not one-dimensional. As a result, changes in pacing and tempo are highly theatrical, as they should be, because this is not your typical filmic narration, it’s the exploration of a man’s mind and motivation. And this is where the brilliance of the script, the cinematography, the direction and the casting all comes together to make one of the best films of the decade. The plot itself doesn’t extend much past what I’ve already outlined but it doesn’t need to, because like a Dostoyevsky novel, this tale is all about the essence of human nature. Enter two more fine performances from Paul Dano who plays the evangelical preacher Eli Sunday and Kevin O’Connor who plays Plainview’s brother Henry. Both these characters have critical roles, not just in driving the story, but in the way they reveal Daniel Plainview’s existential crisis. His relentless search for oil may well be a metaphor of his own search for spirituality while those around him are symbolic of his life’s long lonely journey. All in all, if you’re really into film, you’ll remember ‘There Will Be Blood’ as an all time classic. It takes a real commitment to sit all the way through it, but you’ll be able to discuss its merits and meanings with other fans for years to come.

THE BAD: This is an extremely intense film and definitely not to be considered as light entertainment. For some it will be very difficult to enjoy, particularly as it is a very long drawn out affair. They could have easily cut 30 minutes from the film without diminishing its overall effect, and that alone would have made the final scene far more edifying for the audience. I suspect most of us were just relieved it was over.