...rumours circulate in Hollywood that one co-star quit the movie in disgust after branding Day-Lewis "crazy and intimidating".
Another claimed this week that in one fight scene in a bowling alley, the star pummelled him for real with bowling balls.
...
For the part of Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood, he refused to speak to his co-stars off the set, and insisted on living in a tent on a deserted Texas oilfield when the cameras stopped rolling.
Overshadowed by Day-Lewis, but never to be forgotten, Paul Dano also made a spectacular showing in the movie. You might remember him from his role of Dwayne in Little Miss Sunshine, Brian in Fast Food Nation, or more importantly, young Klitz from The Girl Next Door (read: under appreciated comedy).
Actors alone can't make such genius. Luckily everything about There Will be Blood was breathtaking, but I place extreme emphasis on the mood. Never before have I felt such a sense of impending doom and tragedy approaching in a film that certain parts just made me uncomfortable and nervous. It certainly isn't a movie to take your best gal to in hopes of necking afterwards. You'll be in for some emotional work. The layers of religious, social and moral allegory are all there and can be enjoyed on any level you want. On one hand, it's an intense and personal character study of a violent oil prospector circa-1900; on the other, it's an investigation into the roots of evil and greed. Prevalent through whatever movie you want to see though, is the music. Directly captivating that mood I described, the soundtrack was composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame. It's primarily made up of dissonant strings and loud piano chords that seem like they'd be a better fit for a horror film. One scene in particular offered a tremendous amount of chaos on-screen... fires, people running about, severe injuries, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria. Making it all the more eerie was a collection of random, building percussion that heightened what was already a mountain of nerves.
Basically, see the film or you don't support the troops.
Ending on another entertainment note, I saw Kevin Devine for what was my 3rd time this weekend. Playing without the Goddamn Band, he gave a good hour or so of well-crafted acoustic awesome, even with broken strings and technical problems out the wazoo. I don't want to be the one to tell you how to live your life, but if you don't pick up his newest cd Put Your Ghost to Rest, as well as Make the Clocks Move and Split the Country, Split the Streets, God will hate you. And if you're an atheist or agnostic... well, God will hate you too. And he'll tell Jesus to punch you.
4 comments:
Although I have yet to see this one, I know I will. It's just too appealing to me not to see it. But regarding the most recent movie I did see (dvd mind you) The Fountain was a big bag of win. If you want to walk down eccentric lane, this is a mighty fine place to do it.
Yeah, dude, I certainly own the Fountain. Agreed, real good movie. Even if someone hates the story, they have to appreciate the wonderful photography and imagery.
I thought the story made it all the more powerful (on top of the amazing camera work), making you have to follow it closely and decipher what's going on and how's it relating to the three stories all the time, on top of its intended approach. Reminded me of Borges in a way, the images and flair.
I just picked up Borges collected fictions a few weeks ago. Good look.
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