Berlin gives boost to Oscar-nominated There Will Be Blood

Feb 21, 2008, 18:27 GMT

British actor Daniel Day-Lewis poses for photos as he arrives for the premiere of his film \'There Will Be Blood\' at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, 08 February 2008. EPA/SOEREN STACHE

Berlin - US director Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood gained fresh momentum as it heads into the buildup to the Oscars after winning two top prizes at the Berlin Film Festival last Saturday.

Nominated for eight Oscars, There Will Be Blood, which stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a ruthless oilman picked up the Berlinale's top honours for best director and best musical score, as a result adding to the batch of awards Anderson's film has won.

Holding the Berlinale's two silver bears, Anderson said: 'That's enough for me.' Anderson won a Golden Bear for Magnolia eight years ago saying that Berlin brings him luck.

But Anderson also appears to have struck gold with There will be Blood, which has received almost universal claim.

This includes a best actor nomination for Day-Lewis for his role as the ruthless, obnoxious but charismatic Daniel Plainview who sets off in search of silver in the west of America at the turn of the last century.

But instead Plainview discovers oil and within a few years he becomes incredibly rich. As the title of the film suggests Plainview accepts that blood will be spilt as he strives to fulfil his ambitions.

Apart from a launch pad into the European film market, success in Berlin could help to propel Anderson's film toward as the countdown to Sunday's Academy Awards picks up speed.

Speaking after accepting the awards in Berlin, Anderson paid tribute to Day-Lewis, saying it was a gift and a great privilege to work with the London-born actor. 'He is so talented,' said Anderson.

During his ruthless rise to power Plainview runs into a Christian fundamentalist and his family with Plainview in the end paying a high price for his fortune.

Day-Lewis' nomination for his portrayal of Plainview comes 17 years after he won his first Oscar for his role as Christy Browne in My Left Foot. Born with cerebral palsy, Browne learned to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Along with his powerful role in There Will Be Blood, Day-Lewis has been nominated three times for an Academy Award with some critics now describing him as the greatest living movie actor.

He has already won a Golden Global Award and an American Screen Actors' Guild Award for his portrayal of Plainview.

Earlier this month he won the British Academy Film Awards for best actor beating off tough competition from George Clooney and Viggo Mortensen.

Wearing his now trademark country look, 50-year-old Day-Lewis appeared to play down expectations of what might emerge from Oscar night. Speaking in Berlin, he said: 'I am just going to turn up and see what happens.'

'I feel drawn into the orbit of a world that was unknown to me,' he said about playing the role of Plainview. What appeals to him in acting are, he said, 'lives that are utterly mysterious to me.'

Day-Lewis said the deal was done once he had read Anderson's script, which was loosely based on a 1927 book Oil! by Upton Sinclair. 'I thought there was no way to avoid it,' said Day-Lewis.

The son of Britain's poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis, he first came to movie prominence in the mid-1980's for his portrayal of a young skinhead who has a gay relationship with a Pakistani in British director Stephan Frears My Beautiful Launderette.

A few years later came more fame with My Left Foot. Altogether he has made about 20 movies, including The Boxer, In The Name of the Father, The Crucible and Gangs of New York.

Day-Lewis' dedication to his roles has also helped to enhance his reputation as an actor. For his role in US director Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans he learnt to hunt and skin animals.

Either way, Day-Lewis' performance in There Will Be Blood tends to bring out a powerful reaction from movie audiences.

Los Angeles-born Anderson, whose previous films also include Boogie Nights, as well as Cigarettes and Coffee, said There will be Blood and Day-Lewis' portrayal of the Plainview character had already generated very differing responses from people who have seen the movie.

Some people say 'I like him,' others say they did not like him, said Anderson. Some said they felt sorry for him in the end. One woman told him she wanted to sleep with Plainview.

But, said Anderson, others simply said: 'He really let me down.'