I missed this movie 2 years ago but fortunately a friend of mine showed it to me recently. I haven't seen such a great movie .. since ever. I can really relate to Daniel Plainview sometimes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZx3AxoTjzc&feature=related For discussion - is Daniel Plainview a bad man? And if he is, how bad on a scale from 1 to 5 .
Yes, his performance was absolutely breathtaking; the definition of drama. Great acting dynamic, but its essentially an easy role to play I think - Danial-Day Lewis is probably the most powerful actor on the set and so he doesn't have to emulate his contempt so much.
I thought it was a terrible, boring movie. Daniel Day Lewis is a great actor, though. See Gangs Of New York for proof.