There Will Be Blood (dir: Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007, cert 15)
Epic Oscar winning film making featuring a heavyweight performance from Daniel Day-Lewis and an incredible score from Jonny Greenwood. To describe Day-Lewis’ character Daniel Plainview as ruthless is rather like saying Hitler was a bit of a pest. Plainview is a relentless monster, with no moral compunction about destroying anybody in his way to achieve his ends. Day-Lewis rages across the screen in great tumultuous bouts of violence both verbal and physical and though his scenery chewing was not to everybody’s taste, with one critic describing his performance as industrial scale ham, that didn’t stop the Academy awarding him a best actor Oscar. Also picking up a deserved gong for best cinematography TWBB is a breathtaking piece of cinema. Imagine Citizen Kane with oil instead of newspapers and lashings of extreme violence and cruelty. What better way than to watch a film of such epic scale and grandeur than in the Symphony Hall, with Jonny Greenwood’s magnificent score performed live by the esteemed London Contemporary Orchestra. There will be gravitas.

Sun 5 Feb 7pm at the Symphony Hall,  Broad St, Birmingham B1 2EA £28 – £48 www.thsh.co.uk/