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The character "Daniel Plainview" played by Daniel Day Lewis is the Epitome of Cinematic Characterization!

posted 5 months ago by robocop2019 (187)
7 replies | jump to latest

I recently watched the movie 'There Will Be Blood (2007),' and it was amazing! I was a bit hesitant at first because it's a relatively long movie (2h 38m). But man, oh man, what a movie! I ended up wishing it was 10 times longer. I don't think the movie would have had the same impact if it had been played by someone else. Daniel Day-Lewis did complete justice to the role. It could not have been played any better. The depth and nuance Day-Lewis brings to Plainview make the character feel incredibly real and human, despite his larger-than-life persona.

I watched this movie after watching the much-acclaimed 'Gangs of New York' (2002). I watched it because I had heard great things about the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis. And they were not wrong, but I think it pales in comparison to the character he played in this movie.

The ego, the drive, the insatiable hunger, the absolute primal hate in its rawest form, the decency, the kindness - all in one man named Daniel Plainview.

In my opinion, The character "Daniel Plainview" played by Daniel Day Lewis is the Epitome of Cinematic Characterization!

I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Do you agree? What other performances have left a similar impact on you?

[–] BillHicksFan (10123) 5 months ago

Great performance, most recent great American movie.

[–] robocop2019 (187) 5 months ago

Yes, indeed. I wish, this had been a series so we could have gotten more of it.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (72029) 5 months ago

Agreed, a series would have worked very well too.

[–] GolfnGuitars (2394) 5 months ago

Yes, a great movie and great character. I think it's one of those movies that is great to re-watch...the first time I watched it, I was confused about a couple of things that became clearer after the rewatch. I agree that Daniel Day-Lewis was terrific...hands down, my favorite role of his.

Maybe because it came out around a similar time, but Javier Bardem's performance in "No Country For Old Men" left a similar impression on me also. A great character and great acting performance that left a powerful impression.

[–] robocop2019 (187) 5 months ago

You are right. Javier Bardem's performance left similar impression on me as well. And I was confused about a few things as well and I had to go back and re-watch bits and pieces. There are so many subtleties like for example one of the questions that arose in my mind was "How did Daniel know that the guy pretending to be his brother is not actually his brother?". Then I went back to the scene where they are on a beach and Daniel mentions "peach tree dance". When he doesn't get a reaction from the imposter , he repeats himself looking at him and get a lousy "yeah". That's when he realizes that this man is not his brother because he doesn't seem to remember "peach tree dance" which was probably something he believed his brother would have remembered.

[–] samoanjoes (51066) 5 months ago

2007: the year of great villains.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (72029) 5 months ago

DDL was amazing in that role, but then he’s damned good in everything.

Cumberbatch played a similar character in The Power Of The Dog. Both were prideful, predatory and cruel men who seemed to be unconcerned or unaware of other people’s feelings or worth.

Two perfectly delivered sociopath characters delivered with equal skill imo.