I'm gonna start with a cinematography rant.
Yeah, this is a beautiful looking movie. PTA is a better cinematographer than a lot of cinematographers. Still, Robert Elswit is better and he said in the American Cinematographer article on There Will Be Blood that PTA hates film grain and that's why they shot the movie on 50D and 200T film stocks. PTA has served as his own Cinematographer on his last two films and he's embraced the grain almost as much as I would. This movie was shot on 35mm anamorphic and the only movies that I've seen this year with more grain were Spencer and Blue Bayou which were both shot on 16mm. I'm not complaining about the grain. I love the grain. I just feel for Robert Elswit needing to light for 200T stock while PTA is allowing himself to use faster film.
Okay, that out of the way...
This is a top five movie of the year for me.
I do feel that having familiarity with Los Angeles and the culture may enhance appreciation for the film.
I loved every casting choice and that especially includes the two leads -- the young boy with bad skin and a bad tooth and the slightly older girl who is kinda a female Willem Dafoe (not traditionally attractive while being visually interesting). Bradley Cooper actually played a considerably smaller role in the film than was implied by the trailer; but, he was still great.
The direction is predictably masterful. The editing was flawless. The sound design was perfect.
This didn't unseat Spencer as my pick for best movie of the year; but, it came close enough.