P.T. Anderson: Every Feature Film RANKED
1. There Will Be Blood
There Will Be Blood is quite simply one of the best films ever made, so it should be no surprise to see it top this list. Nominated for eight Oscars, winning two (Best Actor and Best Cinematography), the film topped a number of critics' lists for the best films of 2007 as well as the 21st century.
Following the rise of Daniel Plainview from silver prospector to oil baron, There Will Be Blood has a sweep and scope usually found only in the biblical and western epics of the 1950s and 1960s, tracing Plainview's career from young man to old age and focusing especially on his battles with an ambitious preacher (Paul Dano) in a poor Californian town.
The film is as complete a cinematic package as you can get, with particularly praise being awarded to cinematography, score, bravura direction, and writing. However, what sticks in your mind most is Daniel Day-Lewis. The portrayal of Plainview is nuanced, comic at times, chilling at others, and entirely believable despite how larger than life a character he is. Dano as well more than holds his own. Building inexorably to its stunning conclusion, the film is a masterpiece.