Sometimes it seems that no film is big enough for Daniel Day Lewis. It's as though all that earnest method technique – breaking his nose while learning to box, teaching himself to throw a tomahawk while hanging out with Native Americans – overshadow
s the plot and purpose of the film trying to contain him. But where Martin Scorcese failed to match him in Gangs Of New York, Paul Thomas Anderson succeeds in this epic tale of oil and exploitation.
The film begins in the deserts of the American south-west in the early 20th century and ends with the great crash of 1929. Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis), a pioneer silver-miner chances upon oil and in his quest to make his fortune is revealed as a portrait of pride, ruthlessness and misanthropy. Day-Lewis's Academy Award attests to the strength of his performance, but there's more to this movie than just a central character. Gripping, austere, unsettling stuff.
THE BUCKET LIST (12) £15.99Director: Rob Reiner
Running time: 97 minutes
**Most of us could quite happily sit and observe Jack Nicholson watching paint dry – those eyebrows, those teeth, that smile, that voice. But even for his biggest fans, The Bucket List may be a struggle. A cancer comedy – well, you've got to laugh? – the film centres on Edward Cole (Nicholson), a cynical, irascible billionaire and his unlikely friendship with Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), a kind, sensitive motor mechanic.
The only thing the two have in common is that they have six months to live and in true Hollywood style that means they write a list of things they must do before kicking the titular waste receptacle. Cue sky-diving, vintage car racing and lots of looking back. There are glimpses of two fine actors at work, particularly early on, but as the plot goes awry and the jolly japes stretch credibility and patience, even they aren't enough to keep it going.
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