Bastard from a Basket

02Feb08

This movie has been eating my brain. 

Actually, there are no zombies involved, although P.T. Anderson, the genius behind “There Will Be Blood,” does refer to his latest film as a horror movie of sorts. And I would second that designation. If we weren’t experiencing what’s widely regarded as one of the best film cycles in history, I would be able to truthfully make a grand statement like this: A movie hasn’t stuck in my mind this much in ages. But it was only a handful of months ago that I caught “No Country for Old Men” in a Lansing megaplex. That film’s unforgivingly stark desert backdrop practically forced me to shield my eyes inside the theater. The now infamous villain, Anton Chigurh, haunted me with his nihilistic approach to serial killing. But “No Country” could never be as effective as a horror movie, for me at least, because I cannot relate to its antagonist on any level. I’ve never seen anyone with that haircut, which I wrongly associate with Disney’s “The Sword in the Stone” for some reason. I don’t have urges to commit mass murder all across the shitty-not-great state of Texas.

I guess it boils down to this: “No Country” makes a tremendously powerful statement about powerlessness. Do-gooder types along the lines of Tommy Lee Jones will continue to ride into town a little too late to save day. Demonic Javier Bardems escape to continue their reigns of terror because of dumb luck. It’s a rough, unfeeling world out there and the blinding brightness of the desert sun on a bone-bleached steer skull about sums it up. But that isn’t so much scary as it is depressing.

In the world of “There Will Be Blood,” people do have choices. Those choices end up affecting each character in an untold number of ways, eventually leading to an unexpected and uncomfortably engrossing finale.

Almost a biopic in the mold of “Citizen Kane” or “The Aviator” (two movies also about tragic, larger-than-life tycoons), “Blood’s” events unfold slowly over a period of 30 years. We see the humble beginnings of prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) and his subsequent rise as a savvy oilman/con artist. He travels around California with his son, H.W., using the child’s innocent face to coax land leases from unwitting farmers and townspeople. His men arrive one day on a train, excavate, take their fill of oil, and move on.

A teenage boy pays Plainview a visit inside his makeshift office, telling him that a recent earthquake has jarred loose an abundance of oil on his father’s sheep ranch. Plainview pays the boy for the tip and moves in to strike a deal for the land. The film follows the difficulties involved in procuring said petroleum, clashes with the local religious community, Plainview’s evolving megalomania, a drastic turn in H.W.’s development, and epic personality struggles.

I want to say a lot more about this movie, but don’t want to spoil it. I’ll simply state that the title proves apt (and not at all in a gratuitous Rambo kind of way).

Even if there isn’t a legitimate Oscars ceremony this year, I’ll be satisfied with either “No Country” or “Blood” taking top honors. Considering that Zodiac, another uncompromising thriller that defies easy Hollywood tropes, also came out this year, we’ve seen a banner year.

I’d like to chalk that fact up to more than just dumb luck. Good choices, Coens. Good choices, P.T.

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Tags: coen, danieldaylewis, movies, oscars, paulthomasanderson, therewillbeblood