P.T. Anderson’s “Shifty Bait-and-Switch”

File this under “You’ve got to be shitting me,” or a facetious There Will Be [user defined] heading. It would be insulting to the moviegoing public and the P.T. Anderson camp if it weren’t such a daft forehead-slapper. Entitled “‘There Will Be Blood’ is about what, exactly?” - from EW:

When you hear that title, the moniker given to Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, what images spring to mind? Gothic vampires, sure. A revenge film? Serial killer thriller, perhaps? Torture porn?

Judging by the trailer posted here, you’ll get none of the above. Based on Upton Sinclair’s Oil!, its about a greedy Texas oil prospector (Daniel Day Lewis). Now, he might (or might not) kill folks, but that’s sort of beside the point. (As is whether or not the film is any good. Which it very well might be, given Anderson’s track record.) The question is: Would you feel swindled if you showed up to see a movie called There Will Be Blood and got a period piece about crude drilling? Is this a case of smart marketing, or a shifty bait-and-switch?

Where to start?  I have to think we’re better than this, no? I understand that the Saw franchise may lay claim on the “there will be blood” line, but it stands to reason that by and large we’re exercising due diligence and checking a trailer or review before heading out to the movie house. If you’re telling me we’re at the point where people are waddling up to the ticket booth and making ad hoc selections based solely on film titles, then either a) it’s time to pack it up and shut it down, or b) look out for a big push coming down the pike for big-budgeted features under names like Strong Violence, or for the romantics: Brief Sensuality.

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. And if this is a bait-and-switch tactic, Paul’s been scheming it a least a year or two now, minimum.

tedzee | Permalink | December 4 2007 | Comments (View)