Acting you can see

We wouldn't expect this to start any kind of "official backlash," and even if it did, it's far too late. Daniel Day-Lewis has the Oscar for best actor all sewn up.

But Salon's Stephanie Zacharek has a fascinating dissection today of his driven-to-the-brink oil man in "There Will Be Blood," and she sees more than a little Bill the Butcher in it. Both performances are "stuffed with exaggerated mannerisms and gimmickry." What she also finds: stolen locution (maybe borrowed would be the more appropriate term) from the legendary man's man John Huston.

The problem with that, Zacharek says, is that once the viewer figures out the actor's "choice," it fails to be transparent. In other words, his craft is showing.

"His performance is wrought, not felt: It shows the grit of discipline and forethought but lacks spontaneity, fire, life."

Not the first time anyone's brought up this argument about Day-Lewis' interpretation of the Daniel Plainview character. Zacharek contrasts this with roles he played in movies as diverse as "My Beautiful Launderette," "My Left Foot," and "In the Name of the Father," that could serve as shining examples of the Method acting mantra: you must love the part in yourself, not love yourself in the part.