If it was possible to translate a heavy sigh into writing, I would do so here. It’s not that this film is bad, just that since the advent Buy altace online of Harry Potter it has become fashionable to make movies based on children’s books about orphans discovering magical powers or worlds. The credit that I can give to such films (for example The Chronicles of Narnia and A Series of Unfortunate Events) is that the books on which they were based were published either before or at the same time as the Harry Potter series was gaining international popularity. The Spiderwick Chronicles however, though moderately entertaining, simply falls short of the mark that its monumental predecessors have set.

The formula for all of these films, and for a vast majority of folktales, is that of a group of children, featuring an orphaned boy, discovering something magical and engaging in a quest of some description. The Spiderwick Chronicles is no exception. The hero of the tale, Jared, is misunderstood by his family and thus not believed when he claims to have stumbled onto a book that details the workings of a hidden world full of mythical creatures. Jared gains the help of a few of these creatures in defeating an evil ogre whose wrath Jared has incurred.

For those who haven’t read the books, The Spiderwick Chronicles may be a bit of a disappointment, and though it is clearly geared toward children, there are some scenes that may be a tad scary for anyone under the age of 7 0r 8. One redeeming quality the film may have, for those who are familiar with such things, is that some of the artwork that illustrates Jared’s field guide is delightfully Brian Froud-esque. However, those who are familiar with Froud’s work may be even more disappointed in the portrayal of creatures such as Brownies and Red Caps. Overall, The Spiderwick Chronicles just left something to be desired. I think it may have been originality.

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Daniel Day-Lewis plays the part of Daniel Plainview, a wealthy oil tycoon at the turn of the century. He and his son travel the country buying oil-rich land from towns that, more often than not, are no match for Plainview’s business sense. When he is tipped off (for a price) about a huge amount of oil in a specific location, a tumultuous relationship between Plainview and a small, desperate town begins. The aptly named Sunday family sells Plainview their land as well as run the local church, of which their young son is the preacher. Plainview brings wealth and education to the town, but also greed and tragedy in the form of exploding oil derricks. The Sundays wish only to provide the community with a sense of faith, but their ideas and practices of Christianity are extreme and disturbing to say the least. The tension builds between these two pillars of the community and culminates in a dramatic mix of humiliation and tragedy.

Perhaps what I liked best about this film is its complexity. It’s definitely not the kind of film that allows the viewer to turn off his or her brain while a story plays itself out in front of their eyes. The characters have real depth, in that you’re not quite sure you like the protagonist, and the antagonist is really just doing what he thinks is best. Paul Dano’s performance as both Paul and Eli Sunday is nothing short of superb. He manages to be threatening, disturbing, and desperately genuine all at once. Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal of Plainview is just as good, but different in that his voice is just as important to the character as anything betapace else. It absolutely resonates.

There Will Be Blood is certainly not mindless entertainment, and some parts don’t seem to make sense the first time around. It’s the kind of film you can watch numerous times and understand and enjoy it a little more each time.

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