Son of Beetch

I finally got around to seeing There Will Be Blood over the weekend and I'm sure of two things: 1) Daniel Day-Lewis definitely deserved his Best Actor Oscar, and 2) his character, Daniel Plainview, is the biggest son of a bitch I have ever witnessed on a movie screen. And by "son of a bitch" character, I don't necessarily mean evil or villainous types (a la Darth Vader or Hannibal Lecter). I mean characters made of such narcissistic fortitude that they have not an ounce of compassion or commiseration whatsoever for other human beings. There have been some doozies through the years - Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part 2 and Gene Hackman as Little Bill in Unforgiven come to mind.

Much has been made of Day-Lewis's despicable character and the now classic "I Drink Your Milkshake!" quote. I don't want to give away too much to those who haven't seen the film, but his behavior and treatment of others, including his own son, is utterly loathsome. Many have accused Day-Lewis of over-acting in this performance and others. I disagree. Sometimes this type of performance can actually transcend the actual film itself and become one of those rare "larger than life" roles. This is a prime example. Daniel Day-Lewis is The Man.