A review of There Will Be Blood:Though not a political film in the traditional sense, Blood nevertheless captures the blood-oil-Iraq-evangelicals-capitalism zeitgeist far better than the countless lions for lambs-type films have this year. It got me thinking about the presidential election, and how—like Plainview and his “conversion” to Sunday’s church—so many candidates are pandering to religion not out of spiritual need but material necessity. Like Plainview, it’s not that they necessarily want God on their side; they want God’s people—and the money and support that comes with them. This sort of melding of sacred and secular purposes, however, proves toxic for all involved. There Will Be Blood is a stunning, thoroughly modern work of art that paints a stark picture of what happens when greedy capitalism and power-mongering is bedfellow with something so contrary as Christianity. As the title forebodes, the results—for all parties involved—will not be pretty.I have heard from almost everyone who has seen this that it is one of the best movies to come out in a long time. "Best", in terms of a work of art. Not in terms of "Gee, I want to go see a movie that is going to make me feel all warm and snuggly at the end."
2 comments:
It is indeed one of the best, and in the sense that you said.
Just wanted to say Amen to the post.
It is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. It's not so artsy that you have to be fartsy to enjoy it, but it is definitely a great work of art.
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