Carina Chocano ‘There Will Be Blood’

Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic about a ruthless oilman who literally claws his way out of one hellhole straight into a better-decorated, more luxurious hell of his own devising is as baffling as it is awe-inspiringly powerful. “There Will Be Blood” has been called a contemporary silent movie, not because the film contains no dialogue but because what dialogue it does contain sheds little light into the dark soul that animates Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). That’s what’s remarkable about Anderson’s picture -- it triggers instinct without necessarily appealing to reason. In other words, you get it while not getting it, and you don’t forget it.