Quentin Tarantino has lobbed a deliciously barbed hint at the public, suggesting that one poor soul managed to derail a nearly brilliant creation. Thus, his unveiling of the twenty finest films of the century, mixing titles like Black Hawk Down and Lost in Translation, instantly ignited further spirited chatter.

A towering architect of modern cinema, Quentin Tarantino wields influence with disarming ease, bolstered by two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and works that have become cultural scripture. Still, There Will Be Blood found itself exiled because one actor evidently shattered his entire sense of narrative harmony.

For Tarantino, a single artistic stumble is powerful enough to collapse a film’s ambition, its aura, and its chance at his coveted list.

Paul Dano found himself immediately under Quentin Tarantino’s scorching spotlight when the director announced that Dano’s performance undermined There Will Be Blood. On The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino insisted that this single role prevented the film from rising in his treasured personal canon. Audiences, however, have been spinning an entirely different tale for the past century.

“There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being #1 or #2 if it did not have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is Paul Dano,” he said. With pointed relish, Tarantino added that Dano was “the weakest fu----- actor in SAG.”  

The director of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sharpened his critique on The Bret Easton Ellis’ Podcast, arguing that Paul Dano disrupted the film’s intended two-hander rhythm. Tarantino claimed that someone like Austin Butler, whose vibrant dance chemistry with Paul Mescal recently turned heads, would have anchored the role with flair. He insisted that such force might have lifted the film into his elite selections.

5 Best Quentin Tarantino Movies on Netflix You Can Watch Right Now

Quentin Tarantino has a long history of unfiltered critiques, from questioning David Lynch’s artistic direction to provoking industry outrage. His latest clash with fans only deepens the mystery of his differing opinions.

To most admirers, There Will Be Blood stands like a cathedral among contemporary films, with Paul Thomas Anderson conducting a symphony of grandeur. These viewers treat Paul Dano’s contribution as an essential and unsettling harmony to Daniel Day-Lewis’s thunderous central performance.

In the salons of film enthusiasts, Paul Dano’s portrayal of the Sunday brothers is often praised as beautifully jittered counterpoints to Daniel Plainview’s volcanic temperament. His frantic sermons and spiritual desperation are regarded as vital sparks against the film’s grand furnace of ambition.

Tarantino, never one to cloak his certainties, peered at the same performances and saw incompatibility rather than electricity. His comparison of Daniel Day-Lewis to Muhammad Ali and Paul Dano to Jerry Quarry reveals an insistence that the dramatic duel is improperly weighted.

For Tarantino, this imbalance mutates the performance into what he labeled as a "compromise" previously (via ScreenRant), a blemish that thwarts masterpiece status and prevents the film from ascending his private pantheon. Thus arises the chasm: admirers find richness where Tarantino insists on ruin.

Quentin Tarantino’s 'The Adventures of Cliff Booth' Is Coming to Netflix - Here’s Everything We Know

Do you agree with Quentin Tarantino's statement about Paul Dano? Let us know in the comments!