Ah, yes, there’s more than just making a funny voice and talking about milkshakes and abandoning your boy – there’s a movie here! And a fantastic movie, too. Despite its length, this is not an epic – it is the story about one man who, at first, you aren’t sure if he’s an asshole or not, and then you discover that he is. Along the way is a fascinating snapshot at a unique moment in American industry.
Some people, I won’t say who, have absolutely lost their mind over this movie. I can’t jump on that bandwagon totally. I don’t think that there’s actually any great hidden meaning in this film and I don’t quite understand its appeal for repeated, near-religious viewings. Much like Daniel Plainview’s flat accent, I think this movie is about what it is about. And, frankly, that’s enough. The performances and the setting and the look are, as Plainview would say, fine.
My mother found Johnny Greenwood’s score “distracting” by the way.
Whoever these disturbing Plainview fanatics may be, I don’t think they’re after any hidden meaning either (it’s all in plain view, right?) — but rather, what’s on the surface is so utterly fascinating, they can’t stop looking at it. Can’t wait to get home to viewing #9.
Oh, and of course your mom is right about the music. It’s not one of those emotional-cue score that does nothing but supplement the action on screen. It’s a character in its own right that adds and enriches, or rather, if you prefer, distracts.