There Will be Blood

An absolutely brilliant allegory of republicanism and the central paradox at its heart - the uneasy alliance between religious fundamentalists and extreme capitalists. It's a film which is so classy that the reprehensible central characters and heavy handed oil-based plot (loosely adapted from Upton Sinclair's Oil!) are a pleasure to watch. The problems of a nation are shrunk down to the psychological realm, generational conflicts to a family drama. A film that deserves to be remembered not only for its central performances but as a true document of its time.