This is a humdinger of a film that not one everyone will like. For some it might be too hefty and for others, unfulfilling but as anyone settling down to a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis ought to know, it isn’t going to be Hollywood Movie Lite™. And it must be said, Day-Lewis is no doubt the true star of this film albeit a furtive, imploding and hefty one.
The story itself is quite simple. Set in America at turn of the last century the audience is introduced to a man, down a hole, sweating his guts out mining for gold. This is D-L as Daniel Plainview (note the surname.) He is a man alone; weary, physical, focused and determined. The opening sequence, lasting about ten minutes introduces, without dialogue, his character as a man unperturbed by violence and physical pain. Perhaps the verbal silence of this scene signifies what is to come; no clue as to who this man really is on the inside, no pointers to what he really feels or believes? But do not be deceived, the haunting and creepy music throughout points not to a pure man battling the earth for gold but to a creature resolute on his path of enrichment.
After this stunning introduction to the hard life of mining and to the impenetrable character D-L delivers, we are shown the beginning of his ultimately lucrative yet embittered and lonely life. We see his humble beginnings with a crew mining in the desert and the unfortunate accident which kills his colleague leaving D-L his baby son to care for. And care for he does. As his ‘son’ grows older, we are shown an almost loving relationship develop. The couple search out business together and survey land as a team, trying to find the new ‘black gold’ – oil. Overtime the audience are made to develop the sense that this relationship is honest and caring and that D has truly taken this boy to be his own. But, as we find throughout the slowly disorientating deteriorating story, it is not to be. The result of D’s true nature (you will hardly believe) proves to show a man incapable of any selfless act or thought… or does it. The actions of a man alone, afraid and angry hit us where it is bound to scar deeply but coming away from the film, many days later I found it within my heart to read this story another way and to re-evaluate my initial mental interpretation of his actions. My heart implored me to give the character benefit of the doubt and to insert pieces of the jigsaw which, perhaps, could and would not have easily fitted in had I not brought along my own sense of forgiveness and understanding.
So, heavy stuff so far and I haven’t even touched upon the real story of the film. In searching for lucrative land, D-L comes across a young man who recommends he look on his family’s land for oil. D and his son travel to meet with, and it can be argued con, the family mentioned. Nothing too out of the ordinary until they happen upon another son who is a preacher. It doesn’t take long for these two men to size each other up and then to embark upon a power struggle which rarely on screen has seemed so terrifying and animalistic. There are scenes involving these men which are so powerful and raw and so full of hatred that one cannot look away. The years roll away and even so, when the tables are turned and the power lies with D-L the pure venom and loathing felt between these two does not dissipate indeed, it reaches it peak. The clashing of ideologies – greed and religion – merge and become one another each as violent and self-serving as the next.
This film has so many aspects to it. So many ways it can be read. If betraying fellow men and sons isn’t enough then the nature of desperate men is uncovered in all its pitiful glory. One can use it as a commentary on the present oil crisis or the current problems with religious fundamentalism but one can also read it, with equal validity, as an exploration of the human heart and mind. Avaricious people beware. All that gold, it just ain’t worth it!
If you like this, you might also like ‘Bad Day at Black Rock’. The sentiment is not dissimilar and the uneasiness of the film is just as tangible as it is in this wonderful film.
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