Pozos de ambición

Paul Thomas Anderson y el director de fotografía Robert Elswit son científicos del cine, Daniel Day-Lewis es el Sr. Actor, y es muy probable que su película Pozos de ambición se convierta en el Ciudadano Kane de este siglo. Un retrato cínico, original y épico de la América capitalista. Una obra maestra. (20.03.2008)

Až na krev stojí a padá s výkonem Daniel Day-Lewise, kdyby v tom filmu nehrál, neměl by absolutně co nabídnout. Je to čistě můj subjektivní názor, protože svět vrtů, ropy, magnátů a kšeftování je mi na hony vzdálen a dívat se dvě a půl hodiny na bohatnutí agresivního, bezcharakterního a sprostého hovada, mi připadá zbytečné. Daniel Day-Lewis podává neuvěřitelný výkon, ale jeho herecké výkony jsou nezpochybnitelné, takže se to dalo čekat. Mému srdci jsou však bližší role ve Věku nevinnosti a Čarodějkách ze Salemu. Paul Dano se taky herecky vytáhnul. Ve výčtu pozitiv mi zbývá zmínit závěrečnou skladbu. Resumé - pět hvězdiček za Lewise, půl hvězdičky za Dana a skladbu, příběh na půl hvězdičky. (18.11.2009)

If is it was less protracted, it would be great. I have to admit that in terms of filmmaking, There Will Be Blood is close to perfection, but I prefer films that are a bit more human (not so dry). Oscar here, Oscar there, but I just got bored and it be couldn’t avoided, even with Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance – anywhere else, I’d probably be unable to take my eyes off him. 3* for me, but it’s certainly worth watching. (03.10.2008)

Masterful craftsmanship without artistic compromise. A perfect study of an ambitious, egocentric soul, in whose bearer – the oilman Plainview – the film world has one of the juiciest characters in its history. The gripping first half, when the plot revolves more around the building of an oil empire, is almost visually hypnotic (the scene of the oil rig fire accompanied by rhythmic percussive music has a kind of horror-apocalyptic feel). The second half is more intimate, with the narrative focusing more on the oilman's troubled relationship with his son and the sycophantic religious fanatic Ali (Plainview's "confession" at the baptism gave me chills). It seems as if no one played Plainview, that this slightly stooped man with a distinctive moustache was brought in by Anderson in a time machine from a hundred years ago and filmed with a hidden camera, letting him live out his story… No, really. Daniel Day Lewis… There are no words to describe my fascination with his performance; the facial expressions, the complete change of voice (which doesn't seem mannerist at all), the slightly hunched posture, the imposing appearance. That's no longer acting, that's reincarnation, which perhaps only Day-Lewis is capable of using his famous 'Stanislavsky method'. Daniel and Paul, you have my applause. When Day-Lewis accepted his second Oscar this year with his aristocratic appearance and massive earrings, he looked like a being from another world. And so does this film. (09.03.2008)

An epic fresco, in which Anderson's purposeful filmmaking is matched by the riveting acting of Daniel Day-Lewis, who once again gets to the heart of his character and doesn't act, but simply is that character. The two-and-a-half-hour portrait of a tough egotist who managed to fulfill the American dream without faith and family may not be to the liking of many American churches, but at least it creates a functional subversion of the established rules. This is the essence of perfect filmmaking! (15.03.2008)