MANILA, Philippines?When Daniel Day-Lewis won the 2007 Best Actor Oscar, we viewed his film, ?There Will Be Blood,? to determine what had given him the edge over other finalists in the Academy jurors? collective estimation.

Right off the bat, Day-Lewis? characterization of the film?s oil-baron protagonist-antagonist had us hooked. He was shown during his ?hunger? years, desperately suffering all sorts of challenges to bring in his first oil well.

Portrayal

Day-Lewis? portrayal was quiet, determined and intense, but not at all showy, Indeed, he didn?t have to hype up his performance, since his inner thespic resources were vital enough to fill the screen with their fiercely coiled power.

In time, his character?s sacrifices paid off, and he became a very wealthy and powerful man. This phase in his character?s development presented Day-Lewis with a new challenge, because it required him to go from physically intense acting to a more complex and psychologically tormented level.

He had to do this, because the film was bent on showing that greed for wealth that wasn?t grounded on faith or principle could only end in misery and tragedy.

The faith element was vivified by the introduction of the character of a young preacher and self-styled healer, who provided a necessary counterpoint to the oil baron?s materialistic and power-tripping bent.

Even here, however, the film?s stance was decidedly cynical, since it would later reveal that the preacher?s principles were as spurious as the oil man?s values were warped.

The film went on to build up to a more apocalyptic peak, when Day Lewis? young son went deaf after an accident at an oil well. The oil man?s critics saw this as an act of holy hubris, a development that added to Day-Lewis? character?s psychological stress, eventually revealing the monster that lurked within him.

This monstrous alter-ego made it possible for him to kill without compunction, and even to break the heart of the son he professed to love.

All of these character developments made major thespic demands on Day-Lewis, but he met and even surpassed each of them. Some actors hesitate to play unlikable and even hateful characters, but not Day-Lewis, who makes the oil baron?s coldly evil persona a vital, chilling presence on the screen.

Violent episodes

Unflinchingly, he launches into his character?s most loathsome actions, which include even more violent episodes?revealing a secret that shatters his own faith in himself.

Why is he such a monster? Day-Lewis? portrayal shows the deeply corrosive effects of an unbridled lust for wealth and power. With neither faith nor love to anchor or mitigate it, the worst of human nature is allowed to come to the fore, to wreak havoc on others?and, most lethally of all, on himself.