A Reconsideration of Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood

Those who know me and know my taste in film will know that I think There Will Be Blood is one of the best American-made films of the past decade. My love for this film is great, and maybe one day I'll describe that saga for a little bit of fun. But I've had many a debate with my friends over one aspect that I always found lacking in the film: That of the performance of Paul Dano as the brothers Sunday. I always felt that it was the weakest part of the otherwise near-flawless film. It wasn't as if I regarded the whole of the performance as poor, either, but rather his acting in the last scene of the film that gave me a sour taste in my mouth. The rest of the film he does quite fine for himself, despite my feelings that he was always somehow slightly "off." His last moments, though, always hit me as over-reaching and bothered me for some unfound reason.

This time around I think I may have changed my opinion of his performance. In reconsidering his performance I saw first, his more grounded and assured performance as the briefly seen Paul. His performance as Paul is slight in its difference from his performance as Eli, but in comparing the two, the more assured Paul versus Eli - whom I always felt was slightly off - makes the feeling of uncertainty rising form Eli work for Dano. It presents Dano as what he is, a charlatan and a deceiver. Having Paul played as grounded and assured gives us the sense of Dano's sensibilities and capacity as an actor, and to have the lack of it as Eli gives Eli a greater sense of character. This feeling of Eli being off is less about Dano's capability as an actor and more of the actual character of Eli. 

As for the last scene of the film, I realized that Dano is more consistent in his performance than I had earlier given him credit for. His breakdown and subsequent panic are in line with the performance he has given for the last two-and-a-half hours, as opposed to the inconsistent over-reaching I had previously assumed it to be. The last scene is still "off" in my senses, but it is no longer due to him being a weak actor, but in being a weaker actor than Daniel Day-Lewis. The truth of the matter is, Dano gives a wonderful and strong performance, but he is acting against a true force of nature, and cannot help but be overshadowed completely. It's not the poor kid's fault that he's acting against one of the best actors working right now. He performs strongly, but is simply overpowered by a stronger actor and stronger character.

So may I have been wrong? Yeah. Do I still feel a slight disconnect from Dano at times? Yes, but I see it less now as an actor's misstep and more as a trait of his character. Will that opinion evolve over time? Most likely. We'll see. As for now, I guess I give Dano back his pass.