Friday, September 4, 2009

Screen Art: There Will Be Blood

Screen Art: Finding images in films that transcend their context


This shot from There Will Be Blood (P.T. Anderson, 2007) is one of my all time favorites.

In this scene, the man has just unintentionally revealed information that has caused the main character to mistrust him, so his head is, metaphorically, "on the chopping block." His fate is sealed. The shot only plays out for a few seconds, but the fact that it reflects the plot point symbolically - covering everything below his neck in shadow - is just brilliant. He looks like a drawing - the way his body is so graphically silhouetted against the background in perfect profile.

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