Director Paul Thomas Anderson took his sweet time between films, with a five-year gap between this and his last feature, Punch–Drunk Love. What he has produced with his latest effort is, for him at least, something completely different. Most notably is the fact that There Will Be Blood is his first stab at a period piece. Set at the beginning of the 20th century it follows the rise in the career and notoriety of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) – a man who starts off as a silver miner, but who soon finds his talents are better suited to finding and extracting oil from the ground.

There’s no surprise to find someone as overtly talented as Day-Lewis, recognising the complex nature of Plainview; he’s a secretive man who has learnt the art of standing in front of a crowd and telling them what they want to hear. He has strong beliefs in the unity of family, and yet his relationship with his son becomes increasingly strained. Even though Day-Lewis is virtually in every frame of the film’s 152-minute length, he manages to convey nuances in his character that, if left to any other actor, would have fallen completely by the wayside. He therefore undoubtedly deserved his Oscar win for the role, narrowly edging out the only other real contender Tommy Lee Jones (for In The Valley Of Elah).

Does my 'tache look big in this?

It’s not the only worthy performance in the film though; Paul Dano acts his tiny little socks off in the duel role of the Sunday brothers – Paul and Eli. It can’t be easy for any actor to share screen time with someone as formidable as Day-Lewis, but Dano manages to not only hold his own against him, he also manages to make Day-Lewis even more watchable, which is quite the feat. There’s also a sense that the director is becoming more comfortable helming films of this scale. It’s certainly an audacious move having the first 14 minutes of the film dialogue free. Is this the sign of the man growing in confidence or cockiness? Time will tell. And then there is his use of themes, mainly that of family and religion. Occasionally, he’s a little heavy-handed with both; the film’s length certainly doesn’t help either.

Overall, the film certainly stands out from the director’s other major successes – most notably Boogie Nights and Magnolia; if you enjoyed those films though, you may find this less palatable. However, it only strengthens PTA’s position as being one of the most versatile and talented directors on the Hollywood block, as wells as confirm that Daniel Day is really rather good at this acting lark.