Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a small time California silver miner in the late 1890s when happenstance leads him to oil. Because of his reputation and his image as a solid family man who is raising his young son H.W. (Dillon Freasier), Plainview is able to acquire oil rich land.
Young Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) tips off Plainview to the wealth that may be found on his own father's property. When Plainview approaches the Sunday's parents (David Willis, Christine Olejniczak) he encounters Paul's identical twin Eli (also played by Paul Dano), a sanctimonious evangelist who is set to redeem Plainview's soul -- and profit from the oil find, too.
What follows is the ambitious tale of greed and religion, ruthlessness and deceit, and ultimately madness.
There is an interesting story and considerably intensity in this long film and the thrill of oil coming in reminiscent of that felt in Giant, but the film was no giant in my book. It played out all too tediously and while I wanted to see it through to the end, the end took such a long time to reach. Granted, Giant is an even longer film (3 hours, 21 minutes), but it pulled me along better than this one.
Based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil! and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Rated R for some violence.
My personal rating: C+
Young Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) tips off Plainview to the wealth that may be found on his own father's property. When Plainview approaches the Sunday's parents (David Willis, Christine Olejniczak) he encounters Paul's identical twin Eli (also played by Paul Dano), a sanctimonious evangelist who is set to redeem Plainview's soul -- and profit from the oil find, too.
What follows is the ambitious tale of greed and religion, ruthlessness and deceit, and ultimately madness.
There is an interesting story and considerably intensity in this long film and the thrill of oil coming in reminiscent of that felt in Giant, but the film was no giant in my book. It played out all too tediously and while I wanted to see it through to the end, the end took such a long time to reach. Granted, Giant is an even longer film (3 hours, 21 minutes), but it pulled me along better than this one.
Based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil! and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Rated R for some violence.
My personal rating: C+
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