Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood (2007) is considered one of the finest films of the century and, by some, his magnum opus. However, it seems that one of PTA’s contemporaries has one major problem with the highly celebrated film. Director Quentin Tarantino recently said in an interview that he found actor Paul Dano’s performance in the movie unconvincing and went on to say many offensive things about Dano’s ability as an actor.
While appearing on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino was asked about what he thought were the best films of the 21st century so far. While naming many great films, he ranked There Will Be Blood in the number 5 spot. He added that There Will Be Blood could have made it higher on the list if not for one “major flaw” with the film. Tarantino felt that Dano brought the movie down with his portrayal of the twins Paul and Eli Sunday.
He said, “Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander. But it’s also drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander,” Tarantino said, adding, “Dano is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. [Daniel] is eating him [alive]. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn’t need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn’t need anything. It’s supposed to be a two-hander, and it’s not. You put him with the weakest fu***** actor in SAG?”
He closed down the statement with, “I am not saying he is giving a terrible performance; I am saying he’s giving a non-entity performance. I don’t care for him.”
Obviously, Quentin Tarantino caused bedlam in Hollywood, and many artistes came forward, defending Paul Dano and his acting skills. Mattson Tomlin, who is the co-writer of Batman 2, praised Dano in a post on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “I am really pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano this week. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he’s an astonishing director who exudes control and tremendous empathy.”
Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu also took to X and wrote, “I don’t know, man. I think Paul Dano is an incredible actor.” Dano’s co-star from the film, Dillon Freasier, also sided with him and told TMZ that “the film is perfect. It’s a work of art. And it’s that way because everyone was perfectly cast.”
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Another point of contention that a lot of fans had with Quentin Tarantino’s comment about Austin Butler being perfect for Paul Dano’s role was that Butler was just 16 when the film came out.
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood took home the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography. The cast of the film includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds, Paul F. Tompkins, Kevin Breznahan, and Martin Stringer.
