If Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney ever fall into a funk about their respective "likability" problems, they will definitely perk up after visiting Daniel Plainview at any cineplex this primary season. Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of an oil baron who goes from crass capitalist to cold-blooded killer may be the most unrelieved misanthrope ever to carry an Oscar-nominated movie -- in this case, Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood."
The movies have always fed on villains as much as heroes, but the former category of characters is usually relegated to supporting roles. Even when they break out, as Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter most certainly did with the 1991 Oscar winner "The Silence of the Lambs," the bad guys are essentially supporting players who don't figure into every scene and, in effect, they leave the heavy lifting of carrying the movie to an empathetic hero, such as Jodie Foster's young FBI cadet.
In that respect, "There Will Be Blood" is a watershed pick in Oscar history. Have the Academy members grown up? Does the picture nomination for "Blood," plus another seven nods, show that movie people have finally acquired the sophistication of theatergoers and readers who never stop grooving on Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov or Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth?
Granted, Day-Lewis' Plainview is easier to stomach than those terrors. His relationship with the child (Dillon Freasier) is immensely complicated, to say the least. Is the kid a total pawn, or does Plainview harbor some degree of affection for the boy he calls H.W.? What's interesting is that recent print ads for the "There Will Be Blood" feature a lovely father-and-son portrait that could signal viewers to expect a gilded-age "Kramer vs. Kramer" or "The Pursuit of Happyness."
General auds' enthusiasm for "Blood" has yet to be tested, although the film has done very nicely at the box office in limited release. The important news is that the Academy voters have followed the critics -- as well as the nominators at BAFTA and HFPA -- to embrace a black hole of humanity that arguably occupies more screen time -- is Day-Lewis ever off the screen for more than a few seconds at a stretch? -- than any other major character this awards season.
The Los Angeles Film Critics gave "Blood" its top prize. Most other major awards orgs have not followed suit, choosing instead to limit their gold to Day-Lewis. But this could be that rare case where the movie and the performance are nearly indistinguishable in Acad voters' minds, not unlike Russell Crowe and "Gladiator." Or will they honor Day-Lewis and turn their attention elsewhere for the big prize?
To do so would shortchange the considerable achievements of Anderson, as both director and screenwriter, and his production team. If "There Will Be Blood" tells us anything, it's that bad-boy Daniel Plainview isn't the most evil force on Earth. That distinction belongs to his life's work: Oil!
Contact Robert Hofler at
bob.hofler@variety.com