May 1, 2008 -- This sweeping epic about the early oil rush in California about 100 years ago is a strange, but oddly compelling film about a driven oilman, his son, and a local preacher. Based on a novel, “Oil!” by muckraker Upton Sinclair, the story follows Daniel Plainview (played by Daniel Day-Lewis of "Gangs of New York") and his son, H.W. Plainview (Dillon Freasier) as they work their way from collecting oil by the bucketful from a hand-dug well, to drilling into a lake of oil in California, then building a pipeline to the sea, becoming millionaires in the process. Eli Sunday (Paul Dano of "Little Miss Sunshine") is a weaselly young preacher who wants a piece of the action.

There is something terribly wrong with Daniel. He is hiding some dark secret about his past, probably murder. There is a seething rage just under the surface. He hates most people. He is ultra-competitive and driven to succeed, but he can be charming when he needs to be. He doesn't seem to care for the company of women, but likes young children. There is also something wrong with Eli Sunday. He is a charismatic preacher, but he is also money hungry, a forerunner of modern televangelists, he even has a radio show. At one point, he puts the squeeze on Daniel, forcing him to publicly repent to the get the land he needs for his oil pipeline. Only H.W. Plainview of the three seems to be moral, and even he stoops to attempted murder at one point. This movie is as dark as the oil that flows out of the California ground.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano create memorable, but creepy characters who seem oddly familiar in their deadly symbiotic relationship. These two reminded me of the strange relationship between the Republican Party and the Religious Right. Both need each other in order to get power, but neither really trusts the other, and for good reason. While the Republicans threw a few small bones to the Religious Right, putting anti-abortion judges on the Supreme Court and passing laws outlawing gay marriage and stem cell research, the party's real agenda was to reduce taxes on the wealthy, which increased burdens on the poor and middle class. This relationship isn't about values. It is about power. Similarly, Eli helped Daniel to get the land he wanted, but never got the money Daniel promised for his church. Their final confrontation with each other is shocking. These two people hate themselves and hate each other because each sees himself reflected in the other. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is the best of 2007, a towering portrayal of searing hatred. This film rates an A.

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Copyright © 2008 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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