An act of genius, or of self-indulgence?

Does Daniel Day Lewis deserve an Oscar for There Will Be Blood? I’d say so, over Clooney anyway – who rarely differs the characters he plays. In a Hollywood era where stars basically play themselves, Day Lewis changes beyond recognition and always has – think Room with a View, My Beautiful Laundrette or My Left Foot.

But he has a detractor in Gerald Kaufman, who has just recorded an interview for GMTV on Sunday. This is his take:-

“There Will Be Blood is one of the most phoney and ostentatious films I’ve seen for years, technically brilliant – but, technically brilliant – anybody can do that. I went to see, when Amadeus got its showing at the National Theatre, I went to see it and the actor playing Salieri, whom I will not name out of respect, seemed to be saying to the audience, ‘Look at me! I’m a great actor giving a great performance’ and it’s the same with Daniel Day-Lewis.