Saturday, October 4, 2008

There Will Be Blood


What a terrific movie! There Will Be Blood opens slowly, in real time, with Daniel Day Lewis looking for oil. The story evolves into a biopic of his character, Daniel Plainview, whose hatred for people simmers and gushes out in harsh retribution. I found his character to have some positive traits: independence, self-reliance, intelligence, and the ability to plan ahead. His chief negative trait was that he murdered people. Everyone has some good and some bad in them. At one point he says he has a competitiveness inside, that makes him hate to see others succeed. He channels this negative energy into controlling a large share of the American oil industry and accumulating wealth. I found his single-mindedness rather inspirational, if a bit excessive. I'm fired up to conquer the head and the neck in human structure, function, and development--one more quiz and one more exam!