There are some movies, no matter how many times I try to watch them, and how many people encourage me to “give it another chance,” I will never enjoy watching. Apocalypse Now is one, Down With Love is another. Before this week, I would have put There Will Be Blood (Disc/Download) on that list. That’s how much I disliked it the first time around. Seventeen years later (eight of them spent watching a self-serving, spray-tanned false prophet rise to political power), and I’m ready to revise my opinion. Turns out, There Will Be Blood is a great movie.
I can’t even explain how much of a relief it is to feel this way. For years, I’ve had to qualify my adoration of Paul Thomas Anderson’s movies with, “They’re all perfect! Well… except for There Will Be Blood.” At long last, there is no caveat; I finally “get” this movie. Maybe I had to fall in love with Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock: fussy couturier of The Phantom Thread before I could love him as Daniel Plainview: prospector, oilman, and all-around greedy sonofabitch. Whatever the reason, I simply can’t get enough of his performance. The voice, the movements, the intensity; I’m all in. I particularly love the moment when Daniel realizes his nemesis, small-town preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), is just as much of an opportunist and performance artist as he is. In the span of a few seconds, you see his expression change from one of boredom, to skepticism, to recognition. There can be only one liar-in-chief on these oil fields, and it’s almost inevitable that the other one is drained dry before he even knows what happened.
Speaking of draining, most people are familiar with the famous line, “I drink your milkshake!!!”, spoken to illustrate the point that the land below an untapped oil field has already been drained. You could certainly mix up a boozy milkshake for this movie, but I prefer to make a drink that speaks to a rough, bloody life on the California oil fields at the turn of the 20th century. I use Liber & Co.’s Blood Orange Cordial in so many cocktails, and it’s perfectly on-theme here. While watching There Will Be Blood, I recommend drinking a Blood Sacrifice.
Blood Sacrifice
2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Blood Orange Cordial
¼ oz Apricot Liqueur
¼ oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to combine and chill, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a dried citrus wheel.
My only lingering complaint with There Will Be Blood is the lack of female characters, especially because Anderson has an incredible skill for writing complex women into his films. However, in viewing this movie through the lens of the last eight years, it’s easy to understand why. Any woman in Daniel Plainview’s life would be a mere accessory. He’s not capable of thinking about women as actual human beings; he’d only turn some lucky lady into a show piece or pawn, allowing her no agency of her own. Frankly, I’d rather watch no woman than that woman. But to sum it up, if There Will Be Blood was low on your Paul Thomas Anderson list before today, I urge you to give it another chance. I’m certainly glad I did. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 