If there is one movie that must be watched this is it. "There Will Be Blood" is a movie that hada limited release on Dec. 26, 2007. It was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson who also directed the much underrated Punch Drunk love. It's a story about greed, family,religion and oil. It is centered around a turn of the century prospector in the very early days of this type of business. It is a 2007 film inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil" that stares Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano.



It begins by showing Daniel Plainview [Daniel Day Lewis] as a silver prospector who in 1898 discovers oil in one of the many silver claims. Eventually he builds a small drilling company,then one of his workers are killed and Plainview takes the dead man's son as his own. He later starts a much larger company and names his son as his nominal partner. By 1911 he is one of the most successful oil men in the state of California. Plainview then buys an oil lead from a young man named Paul Sunday [Paul Dano]. Plainview and his son travel to Little Boston, California to scout out the property and attempt to buy the property without informing Paul's father Abel[David Willis]. But Paul's twin brother Eli[also Paul Dano] knows the value of oil and raises the price to $10,000. Plainview agrees and then he buys the surrounding ranchers, except for one. He intends to ensure his monopoly on the Little Boston oil.

After drilling begins a large reservoir of oil is discovered that runs underneath the town but a fire occurs and HW [Plainview's son]loses his hearing in the blast. Plainview is unable to communicate with his son. Eli comes to the derrick to request the money that Plainview owes him but Plainview attacks him and screams at him for not being able to heal his son. Eli returns home and beats his own father for allowing his brother Paul to tell Plainview about the oil.

A man claiming to be Plainview's half brother,Henry Brands[Kevin J O.Conner],is befriended by Plainview and is told of Plainview's deep seated mind set about having to win. HW attempts to burn down the cabin that his father and Henry are in and Plainview decides to send him away to a school for the deaf. It is then that Standard Oil offers to buy Plainview out because Plainview is loosing money on his transportation of the oil by train, but Plainview makes a dealwith Union Oil to make a pipeline leading to the coast. But there is one problem, the pipeline has to go through the one property that Plainview does not own.[Plainview ends up killing Henry and buries his body in a muddy ditch after he discovers that Henry was a fake.] The following morning Plainview is told by Bandy [the person who owns the on piece of land that Plainview need for the pipeline] that he is willing to lease the property on one condition--That Plainview join the Church of the Third Revelation. Plainview agrees but is humiliated by Eli who makes him knell and confess he has sinned and abandoned his child. Plainview then sends for HW but he is still unable to communicate with him and starts to become a heavy whiskey drinker. Eli leaves on Missionary work and the town becomes prosperous because of the oil.

The movie now jumps to 1927 where we observe the marriage between HW and Mary Sunday. By this time Plainview lives by himself in a large mansion where he is usually drunk and spends his time by shooting his possessions. HW asks his father, through an interpreter, to be released from his partnership so that he could form his own oil company in Mexico. Plainview refuses and tells his son that if he could actually speak the request, he might sign it. It is at this point that Plainview tells HW the truth about being adopted. Hw then leaves for good. Soon afterwords Plainview is again visited by Eli who by now heads a large church and works on the radio. Eli tells Plainview that Bandy's grandson wants to start a film career and he will broker the deal for the untapped oil under Bandy's land. Plainview teases him and starts to compare him to Paul who is now a successful oil man. But Plainview agrees to the deal on the condition hat Eli say "I am a false profit and God is a superstition" Eli agrees and Plainview orders him to say it several times. Plainview then informs him that the oil under Bandy's land is gone and then begins to attack him by throwing bowling balls at him. Finally he beats him to death with a bowling pin. Suddenly he hears his servant calling him and feeling satisfied he says, I'm finished!

This film has appeared on many critics "top ten" lists for the year, critics' associations – such as the National Society of Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association – recognized There Will Be Blood with awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Daniel Day-Lewis received a Golden Globe for his performance, and it has been nominated for numerous AMPAS and BAFTA awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. This has to be the most critically acclaimed film of 2008 so far.