There Will Be Music.

The score is half the movie.

If you doubt that statement, go see “There Will Be Blood,” and render your verdict.

The music, composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, is unlike anything I’ve heard before. Daniel Day Lewis will get the positive reviews, but it’s the music that gets stuck in your head – like a foot ‘tween the train tracks.

I’ve read that this score redefines music in the movies. I’ve also read that it’s a jarring mess that will keep “There Will Be Blood” out of best picture consideration. I land somewhere in the middle.

At times, I just wanted the story to play and not be reminded by the score that the scene was scary or touching or epic. At times, I wanted the music to be less present, to not always be spewing forth over Stranger ranch in the California desert. But mostly I was in awe of experiencing a movie in a way I never had before.

Daniel Day-Lewis puts his whole body into this movie in his best performance ever. But it’s Jonny Greenwood who strikes oil.

Lazy Eye Theatre - Wandering Film Talk