Things Go Up, Things Go Down

So. I've just finished watching There Will Be Blood and, to be quite frank, I'm not all that sure I liked it. More than anything else, this movie had the unnerving effect of making me extremely uneasy throughout the viewing.

And don't get me wrong, Daniel Day-Lewis is, in my estimation, one of the best screen actors of our generation, but there was just something about the film, something that put me so entirely on edge that I was almost unable to finish watching it. Normally, I am all about period films, and the movie itself was quite beautiful, in its own gritty, oil-stained way. Somehow, I dunno. It weirded me out, in so many words.

The whole subplot with the deaf son-who-isn't-a-son, while it was apparent from the beginning, was still pretty interesting, in the grander scheme of the film. The Paul/Eli thing also threw me for a loop. Was Paul the same person as Eli? Was that one man a complete psychopath? Or were they a pair of identical twins? Wikipedia and IMDB are rather inconclusive on this. They make it seem as though they are two separate characters, but where did Paul go? Why did Eli completely subsume the part? Even at the end, when Plainview attacks Eli in the bowling alley, he talks about Paul being a successful driller, but is he, in fact, just making up stories to drive him mad, or is there indeed another brother offscreen?

And all I have to say about the closing music is WHAT?

It's too late to think anymore. Hasta luego,

X.