Paul Thomas Anderson’s films aren’t just memorable in the stories they share but are striking by way of their individualized aesthetic. Much like each character from his work is memorable in their personality traits, desires, and needs, PTA’s films also bear their individual traits from their editing. How do we see each of his films; what are we shown and how does the culmination of these images engage audience attention and create an unblinking experience?
In a video essay by Nerdwriter1, Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 exploration of greed and faith manifests itself into the film “There Will Be Blood.” The film not only bore critical acclaim as a whole but was singled out for the transformative performance of Daniel Day-Lewis. When we look back at the film, however, it is not only the performance or story the enraptures us, but also the shot for shot value the film bears. “There Will Be Blood,”as explained in the video is comprised of only 678 shots, with a keen emphasis on cinematographer Robert Elswit’s use of long takes. The average of most shots in the film is 12 seconds, a long time to hold audience attention when seeing the exact same image. Over time the rate of shot length on screen has dramatically decreased.
Paul Thomas Anderson, in his unique directorial style, infuses camera movements and motifs to keep what we see on screen interesting, reflexive, and meaningful. To show two characters bear the same traits while playing on those characteristics differently, Anderson often uses the same shot: one subject is bathed in light with the camera closing in, while the other is cloaked in shadow; the camera veering backwards. The style is scrupulous. When forced to stare at an image on screen, never waning, we hang on to every word that is said and every expression that is made. The video essay goes into further detail of Anderson’s eye and image, it is yet another reason why we laud his films and pay attention to every detail.