In the past I was never a person to rave about a performance. I appreciated good acting, but typically only mentioned it if it were bad. If the movie wowed me I usually took it to be because of great storytelling, execution, and acting, I thought of acting last and least (not that I didn't admire it, I just didn't consider it often). Today I cannot write another entry about an AFI film without first raving about Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood. I feel like I met Daniel Plainview today. I sat in the theater and met a real person. He stunned me. I was desperate to see his reactions to life. I understood him, I was confused by him, I felt many emotions, but more than that I just sat in awe. His wonderful performance in no way took me out of the film (I didn't sit there analyzing him and not enjoying the movie) it only drew me in. This is not to discredit Paul Thomas Anderson's directing, or attribute the film only to Daniel Day-Lewis, a group effort is always involved; but today Daniel Day-Lewis just blew me away.
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day-lewis pours himself into every role he's ever inhabited, even when he takes time off from acting. he studied for a period with a cobbler down the street from where i lived in florence, italy. perhaps you could go there and buy some exquisite handmade shoes that he constructed!
just the other day, i watched my all-time favorite film, a room with a view, for the umpteenth time and marvelled as always at day-lewis's performance. cecil is an unlikeable character but he makes him endearing in a way, but never pathetic. day-lewis is v charming and nervous an early interview featured on the 2nd disc special features. check it out.
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